We’re down to the final four in London as Roger Federer takes on David Goffin and Grigor Dimitrov squares off with Jack Sock in the semis of the ATP Finals on Saturday at the O2 Arena.
Here are three burning questions ahead of Saturday’s semis…
HAS FEDERER WON THIS ALREADY?
Looking at the four semi-finalists, Federer is a six-time ATP Finals champion and has made the last-four 14 times in 15 appearances, while the other three are all first-time semi-finalists at the tournament.
It’s the first time since Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Gilles Simon made the semis in 2008 that the tournament has witnessed three first-time semi-finalists all at once.
Federer is a combined 15-0 against the other three players still standing at the O2 Arena and considering his experience at the tournament, his indoor hard-court prowess, and the way he’s been playing this week, it’s hard looking past him for the title on Sunday.
A possible rematch with Sock in the final for Federer could be tricky simply because they had just faced off earlier in the week and the American is actually playing some great tennis and can make some adjustments from the tight two-set loss he suffered to Federer.
Dimitrov is in great form and they’re the only two players to go undefeated through the round robin stage this week.
But he’s never beaten Federer in any of their six previous meetings and the Swiss can do everything Dimitrov does, but slightly better. Getting past Sock will not be easy either from the Bulgarian but still, Dimitrov has lost just two games in each of his last two matches and looks like a man on a mission. There’s always a first time for everything, right?
HOW BIG OF A THREAT IS SOCK?
The simple answer is: very big! The American snuck into the field at the last minute, winning his first Masters 1000 crown in Paris just days before the tournament and he’s been playing some impressive tennis since.
Making his ATP Finals debut, Sock pushed Federer in two tight sets in his opener before defeating Marin Cilic in a third-set tiebreak and defeating No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev.
Sock thought he would be on holiday this week but instead, he surprised himself and everyone else by making that run at the Paris Masters and making it to London. With big weapons that can trouble anyone on this surface, the American has shown what he’s capable of already, and he’ll be a tough nut to crack for a high-flying Dimitrov, who trails Sock 1-3 head-to-head (Sock won their last three meetings).
CAN DIMITROV KEEP THIS UP?
The Bulgarian is 18-5 since the start of Cincinnati (which he won) and it seems he’s ending the year the same way he started it – by playing incredible tennis. Dimitrov hasn’t just been playing differently, his entire demeanour has changed. He’s been great in press conferences, and he says he feels like he “belongs” at this level.
His game is up there right now and it’s going to be a matter of if he can keep calm and maintain his nerveless form he’s displayed so far this tournament.
A final between him and Federer would be epic.
