Federer Reaches Landmark Century

Roger Federer is now one win away from retaining his title at the ATP World Tour Finals after a 7-5 6-3 success over David Ferrer and is into his 100th career final.

The Swiss former world No.1, looking to triumph in the season-ending tournament for a record sixth time, extended his unbeaten record against the Spaniard to 12-0.

Ferrer did make the fourth seed work in a first set that lasted the best part of an hour, but his exhertions from the previous night, when he lost to Tomas Berdych in three, left him struggling to live with Federer.

The defending champion extended his winning streak to 16 matches and made it nine victories in a row at the end-of-season showpiece, while the result means he will retake third place in the rankings from Andy Murray next week.

"Obviously I'm very happy to have played so well again. That's what it takes to beat David, he's had an amazing season and an amazing tournament," said Federer afterwards.

"He can still win the Davis Cup next week so I hope he does that."

Federer will now face the winner of the semi-final between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Czech Tomas Berdych on Sunday.

But it was not a vintage display from the Swiss ace, who was edgy in the first set in particular despite his perfect record against Ferrer.

Ferrer returned to the court less than 16 hours after the end of his loss to Berdych and he was in trouble when he began the fifth game with two double faults, but a sharp volley helped him stave off a break point.

Federer had the luxury of a day off on Friday but he seemed to be feeling the pressure and was snatching at shots and making a host of unforced errors.

He survived a game of five deuces, serving to stay in the set at 4-5 and in the next game the 30-year-old moved up a level, winning a fine rally to force two break points, taking the second when Ferrer overcooked a forehand.

That should have been a weight off Federer's shoulders and he served out the set with relative ease.

The Swiss then made the perfect start to the second, his forehand suddenly looking much more secure as he extended his winning streak to four games with a return thumped down the line.

Ferrer was not about to throw in the towel and he stopped the rot by holding for 1-2 with a scrambled backhand winner that said everything about the Spaniard's tenacity.

He then saved two break points to stay just about in the match but it was all over when Federer broke again in the final game, his attacking play finally overwhelming Ferrer.

Djokovic Gets Tipsarevic at O2

Novak Djokovic's hopes of reaching the last four of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals suffered a blow after he was beaten 3-6 6-3 6-3 by Janko Tipsarevic.

The world number one made a bright start but regressed dramatically as the contest at the O2 Arena in London wore on.

In contrast Tipsarevic, who is playing in the competition as an alternate after Andy Murray withdrew, grew in stature over the course of the match to claim a first-ever win over his compatriot.

Djokovic must now hope that Tomas Berdych loses to David Ferrer in the evening session on Friday as a win of any kind will send the Czech player through to the semi-finals.

"I feel it was an interesting match with a lot of ups and downs from both Novak and me," Tipsarevic toldSky Sports after his victory.

"I feel extremely happy and lucky to be here. I stated the season at 49 (in the world rankings) and if somebody told me that his is the way I would finish this year I would take it in a heartbeat."

The 27-year-old stand-in was already out of contention for a semi-final spot but a first victory in four meetings with Djokovic would have provided a fine end to the best season of his career.

But Djokovic, who had been so unimpressive in a straight-sets loss to Ferrer last time out, took control of the first set with a break in the fourth game.

He was moving well and hitting the ball with much more authority than he had two days earlier, with Tipsarevic having to fight off two set points at 5-2 when the net twice came to his opponent's aid.

That earned Tipsarevic the support of the crowd and there was a loud cheer when he managed to hold, but he was merely delaying the inevitable as Djokovic had no trouble serving the set out.

The errors began to creep into Djokovic's game at the start of the second set, though, and Tipsarevic capitalised in the sixth game when a drop shot from the top seed failed to clear the net.

The world number nine was trading blow for blow with his countryman but he could not consolidate the break as some incredible scrambling defence from Djokovic drew the mistake.

However, the underdog was undeterred and with Djokovic suddenly looking weary he made his move, clinching the set at the second opportunity when his fellow Serbian sent a return well long.

That made the result of the match largely irrelevant for Djokovic, with a Berdych win later now guaranteed to send the Czech through regardless of which way the third set went.

Djokovic was broken again at the start of the decider, with the zip of the first set absent from his shots, and he quickly slipped three match points down on his own serve.

He saved two with good serves but dumped a forehand into the net on the third to give Tipsarevic a first win in the competition.

"He deserved to win," said Djokovic. "He was the better player in the second part of the match.

"It's never easy to perform against somebody you know very well. Regardless who is across the net, obviously you want to win. That was the case today. But it wasn't meant to be.

"I'm glad he got the chance to play and got the chance to win as well. It can give him a lot of confidence for next year."