Federer, Nadal open with London wins

Nov 21, 2011, 0:25 GMT

London - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal made emphatic starts at the ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday as the pair of former number one players both took opening-day group match wins.

World number three Federer got off quickly as he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the second time in a week 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in a Group B match.

The Swiss who owns five year-end trophies and who has played in ten consecutive season wrap-up events won in just under 90 minutes.

Nadal tested himself as he played for the first time in six weeks after taking a pause, beating American year-end rookie Mardy Fish, US, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) in nearly three hours.

The number two Spaniard, who still has a Davis Cup final against Argentina to play from December 2 in Seville, was competing for the first time since a third-round loss in Shanghai nearly six weeks ago.

Nadal improved to 8-2 over Fish, playing the year-end event for the first time and only just recovering from a groin muscle strain which forced him to quit at his last two events.

After winning six on the trot, Nadal was beaten in a summer quarter-final by Fish, but the Spaniard avenged that loss in the Tokyo semi-finals last month.

The pair were playing for the fourth time in Britain.

Nadal and Federer now lead group standings after the opening day. The top two finishers in group stages advance to the Saturday semi-finals.

Federer backed up his recent Paris title success over Tsonga, winning his 13th match in a row.

'This was possibly one of my best matches of the year,' said Federer. 'Today was close, but maybe I had some luck in the last game (when he broke Tsonga).'

'I'm happy to get off to a good start in the group.'

The Swiss world number four, who has a chance of overtaking Andy Murray to grab third back, hammered through the opening set but was unable to continue his dominance, as Tsonga broke twice in the second set to square it.

'I was just trying to stay calm, waiting for my chances and trying to create chances when he was not serving as well as he did at times,' said Federer. 'I came through for the victory, which was exactly the way I had hoped it would be.'

The situation remained tight in the third, with Federer gaining the tiniest of edges as his opponent double-faulted in the tenth game for 0-30. A forehand winner to the corner from Federer yielded three match points with the Swiss converting on his second with a clean backhand winner.

Federer finished with 15 winners and 20 unforced errors in what he will admit was not his cleanest performance.

Federer improved his record over Tsonga to 7-3 after losing twice to the powerful French player this season but now lifting his third straight victory in the series.

'I started really bad, and then it is difficult,' said Tsonga. 'I just tried to put the ball in the court. In the first set, I didn't put one ball in the court, and that's it.'

'This feels the worst, it's always better to start with a victory. But I'm still in the tournament and I will try to play my best tennis on the next match.'

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