Just champion: Roger Federer proved he's not a spent forceHe will be happy to forget much of what lies in between, but Roger Federer found the perfect pair of bookends last night for a year that began with him winning the Australian Open.
A 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory in the climax of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals over a leg-weary Rafael Nadal served as an emphatic statement that, at 29, he is still at or near the height of his very considerable powers.
As he heads into an all-too-brief winter break he can be warmed by the thought that Nadal is not invincible, and that his relative shortfall in the Grand Slams since Melbourne may not be part of a longer-term trend.
Andy Murray was the third man in this final and, like in Australia, his assistance was crucial, albeit for very different reasons. Back in February the British No 1 played below himself when Federer beat him in the final, while on Saturday his supreme challenge to Nadal in their semi was a major factor in the outcome as well.
The three-and-a-quarter hours it took to subdue Murray 24 hours previously had exacted a heavy price from the Spaniard, effectively running the finish out of this extraordinary athlete.
So when the world No 1 was broken to go 3-1 down in the deciding set there was no coming back against a player who had, much to his credit, barely allowed himself to be detained by Novak Djokovic the night before.
This win in London is not the type that Federer has become accustomed to, but its value is hardly much less.
Final hurdle: Rafael Nadal ran out of steamBy beating five top-eight players in a week he gains threequarters of the ranking points Wimbledon offers to its winner and a payday of £1,040,000, marginally more than the victor gets at the All England Club.
In the 41 years of these year-end championships Federer becomes its second oldest winner, which shows that the clock is ticking, but the 17,500 packed into the O2 Arena - part of an aggregate attendance of 253,000 - were shown that he is not a spent force.
Federer said: 'I've really enjoyed playing here. It's been a wonderful atmosphere once again. Rafa's had an amazing year, one any player dreams of.'
Ultimately Nadal can still look back on a year that saw him win three Majors, and that is ample consolation for failing to take the one title in tennis that eludes him. Nadal did not wish to use fatigue as an excuse, saying: 'Everyone saw the match, it is for other people to make up their minds.'
Of the 22 meetings between the pair this one will not go down as one of the classics because of its tapering off, although it threatened to become one when Nadal broke for 3-1 in the second set.
Star attraction: Diego Maradona and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones watch the actionHe had needed to reserve his best for Murray, and in the third set could never quite test the fragile nerve that has impeded Federer at times in 2010.
He was that fractional step slower, and suffered against the pinpoint accuracy of the Swiss serve, and the penetration of his rival's backhand. In Melbourne, where Nadal will be going for his fourth straight Slam, it might all be different.
Murray will not be hanging around long in frozen Europe before heading to warmer climes to prepare for 2011.
After playing in an annual football match with friends today he heads to the Bahamas on Wednesday for a char ity exhibition event and quick holiday before embarking on his usual December boot camp in Miami.
His performances since the US Open, the highlights of which were winning the Shanghai Masters and Saturday's epic, will see him end the year at No 4.
It is enough for him to shy away from embarking on any major new coaching arrangement, and he seems happy with his support team and the part-time assistance from former world No 2 Alex Corretja.
'I like working with the guys I'm with, I have started learning things and improving again and the way things are now I feel everyone works well together,' he said. 'I'll probably keep working with the same bunch of guys and don't necessarily need to add anything.'
In the wake of Saturday' s monumental effort, he reflected: 'I need to be playing at that level all year, over five sets and everything, to compete with Roger and Rafa all season.'
The evidence of this week shows what an enormous task that is, but the physical talent is there. Whether Murray can learn to exert the same iron control over his emotions as the two great men will determine whether he can achieve his dream next year.
source: dailymail
