November 7, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Six-time former champion Roger Federer kept alive his chances of qualifying for the semifinals at the 2013 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday, winning his first Group B round robin match this week, 6-4, 6-3 over eighth seeded Richard Gasquet at The O2 in London. Only once in his previous 11 years has Federer not advanced out of round robin play in 2008 (1-2). Federer closes out round robin action on Saturday against Juan Martin del Potro, while Gasquet will face Novak Djokovic.
"Comparing the 2013 ATP World Tour season to previous trophy-laden campaigns," said Federer. “I needed the hard fought wins back then to go on and win the tournament. Now I feel like the hard fought wins are there to get me back to a really good level, a very competitive level. I'm not coming back from a serious injury, but I'm coming back from a lot of sort of ups and downs, resetting things, trying out things, making sure I get my confidence back, my movement and so forth. So it's a totally different situation."
