• 7-5, 7-5. Narration and statistics

Dominic Thiem had never debuted with a Masters Cup victory, while Roger Federer, six-time champion, had only been eliminated once in the Round Robin (2008) in his previous 16 appearances. However, the Austrian again imposed his tennis in London, where he closed in 100 minutes his third win of the year against the genius of Basel (7-5, 7-5).

"Dominic played very well. My start didn't help, then I recovered well and it matched for many minutes. I had my chances and got into trouble in the service. He got very good as he had to do. My game has not been good enough. "Federer analyzed.

Less than two years after quarantine, the Swiss is still fast and elegant on a covered track, where he can get his 300th victory this week. But this Sunday he did not know how to keep the Austrian attacks at bay, much safer since the track background.

Dressed in black and with freshly cut hair, the match didn't start well for Roger. His first backhand volley crashed into the net, and then he was down 2-0. Bad omens for a player who has not won this tournament since 2011, and who returned to London after the unfortunate defeat against Novak Djokovic last July in Wimbledon.

Del Potro and Nishikori

Despite having the support of the 20,000 fans who packed the O2 Arena, Federer's start was not what he wanted, but the result is not definitive and can still achieve the semifinals. At the moment it is the fourth time he falls in his inaugural game, after his defeats against Juan Martín del Potro (2009, 2012) and Kei Nishikori (2018).

Thiem, who dominates the face-to-face now by 5-2, had knocked down the Swiss this year in the final of Indian Wells, on the hard track, and in the quarters of Madrid, on land.

This is also Federer's first defeat on the indoor track in 2019. Winner in Basel, where he won the four games he played (Stan Wawrinka did not show up), he added the other two in the Geneva Laver Cup, against Nick Kyrgios and John Isner

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