Federer Wins His London Group With Rout of Murray

Roger Federer had already qualified for the semifinals of the ATP Finals when he took to the court to play Andy Murray on Friday. Murray, on the other hand, needed to beat Federer in straight sets to advance into the semifinals.

What happened might have surprised everybody though, as the Swiss handed the Scot one of the worst losses of his career, steamrolling him 6-0, 6-1 in just 56 minutes at the O2 in London.

“I had the upper hand from the baseline, which hasn’t always happened against him,” said Federer. “But I definitely was able to play on my terms. For me, things went very well. I was able to put Andy under pressure very often, and I think the match couldn’t have gone any better really.”

This match was completely one-sided from the onset. Murray was only able to salvage a game late in the second set with the score already out of reach. His ankle seemed to hobble him a bit, but even at 100 percent he was no match for Federer.

“It was a tough night. I’ve lost slam finals and stuff, which has been very tough,” said Murray, who also won just one game back at the 2007 Miami Open. “But in terms of the way the match went, it was not ideal from my side of the court, far from it.”

When the two met at the net to shake hands after the match, Federer apologized to Murray for beating him that badly to which Murray told him “don’t worry about it”.

The win marks the 250th indoor match win of Federer’s career as he improves his overall record in 2014 to 71-11. He wins Group B while Japan’s Kei Nishikori finishes second and will also move on into the semifinals.

As for Murray, the Scot finishes the season in disappointing fashion. He had hoped his three titles leading into London would give him some momentum, but he was unable to regain his top form.

“It wasn’t what I was looking for when I went on the court,” said Murray, who finishes 2014 with a 59-20 match record. “Everything he tried tonight came off. He has the ability to do that. I now have six, seven weeks before the next tournament. I have time to work on some stuff.”