LONDON — Novak Djokovic recovered from early breaks in both sets and beat Roger Federer 7-6 (6), 7-5 yesterday in the championship match at the ATP finals.
The crowd at the O2 Arena was decidedly in Federer’s favor, but they cheered loudly throughout the match as both made spectacular shots.
The top-ranked Serb closed it out with a backhand passing winner to improve his head-to-head record against Federer to 3-2 this year, and 13-16 overall. It was Djokovic’s second victory at the year-end tournament for the top eight players in the world. He also won in 2008, when the tournament was in Shanghai.
Federer, who is now 15-3 in Britain this year after winning his seventh Wimbledon title and the Olympic silver medal, had been looking for his record seventh title.