Day 4: Federer v Gasquet Tennis: World Tour Finals

Roger Federer, he is the most successful man in the history of

tennis. He has won a record six titles, all at the world tour

finals. 2013 has not been a vintage year. Today is a must win match but

there is one advantage he can always count on. He is a great player. I

have faith in him. He is very elegant.

have faith in him. He is very him so much!

He has a vast legion of fans who will be out in force once again

today. They will be a huge roar when he walks onto court here, as there

always is. Today he is taking Richard Gasquet of France, two

places below him in the world rankings. One thing I can promise

you is this will be a stylish, elegant match and a joy to watch. I

am sure Tim and Andrew will agree with that. Most definitely will

study will be looking to bounce back from the loss in his first match

against Novak Djokovic. Richard Gasquet lost his first match against

Juan Martin Del Potro. He played well and was upset. It is a must win

match for both players. They have got a record of paying 12 time.

Richard Gasquet makes a mistake sometimes. His defence isn't quite

the same as Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer can express himself more.

When you say it is going to be a beautiful match aesthetically, I

agree. I'm really looking forward to it. The players are making their way

and theory comes. Winner of three world tour titles

this year, from France, Richard Gasquet!

Berkeley 's world tour finals champion, winner of 17 grand slam

titles, from Switzerland, Roger Federer!

ladies and gentlemen, please thank the mascots... Just a great deal of

flashbulbs around the arena. He is 32, everyone is saying

flashbulbs around the arena. He is shirt manufacturer, what he is going

to wear at the U.S. Open in 2015. He shirt manufacturer, what he is going

wants to be around. On reflection, it has been a difficult year for

him. He hasn't played his best tennis. Niggles in his back have

played a large part of that. He will be keen after this tournament to

make sure that he has a foundation to go into Australia, ready and

raring to go, and to bounce back. Roger Federer ranked seventh in the

world doesn't sound right. He will be looking to put that right next

year. It doesn't, does it, Andy? Seven is the lowest ranking he's

hadn't since 2002. He is trying to find solutions to problems is never

had before. Let's listen in. Just remember two

Heads. You one. Picture, please. let's just show you what is

happening as far as the group stages go. This is group B.

Yesterday, group A were in action and last night, Tomas Berdych

blasted past that lead -- David Ferrer.

blasted past that lead -- David group A as far as it stands, with

Rafael Nadal guaranteed through to the semifinal.

Let's get back to this much and this man, Roger Federer. He's been in the

news this week and plenty of talk about his movement and fitness,

particularly by Novak Djokovic. This is what he had to say. Sorry, that

was Roger. This is what Novak Djokovic had to say in his press

conference. down primarily to your back. It

could be the ageing process as well. I disagree because last year, I was

world number one and I was 31. At 32, you can play tennis any more? I

don't think that cricketing around can happen. Things were difficult

for me in 2012. There was a lot of tennis, it was an Olympic year as

well. I could back on my schedule. I knew I was going to drop in the

rankings. Plus, I had issues with my back. Putting those things together,

it is clear whether struggles come from. It has been an exciting and

interesting year. Maybe not a successful year but nevertheless, I

thought it was a good year. We can see that you still love the game.

That much is apparent. Has it been hard take, when you are used to

winning things? I knew that I will not play semifinals or quarterfinals

every single time. I just talking about it a lot. The back

injury, the build-up is so important these days. What I love is his

absolute refusal to accept over the course of eight or 12 months, where

he has had to deal with different demands, he mentioned the Olympics

and family, he absolutely is refusing to accept what many of us

already know about age which is that it slows you down a little bit. You

cannot be maximum IQ has been for a decade or more. He is having to find

a way around these things. This is the real world. I love the fact he

refuses to lie down. I think it is brilliant. Absolutely. We will talk

more about that in a moment. Let's hear from his opponent, Richard

Gasquet. I like to play by changing the rhythm of my shots, to do many

things on the court. Of course, I'm the rhythm of my shots, to do many

saying. My backhand is different from many players. It's very nice to

have this short on court and I think people like me because of shot.

Backhand. Everybody is being nice about everybody else. He doesn't so

much damage with his backhand. This one goes down the line. The actually

leans off this one. He follows through more than you would coach.

But it is a thing of beauty. Tim was saying... That one went crosscourt

but which one would you pick? You would want the one on the left,

right, Tim? I probably would. Don't get me wrong, Richard Gasquet's has

a more compact swing. Going back to that point about

movement, I think it is inevitable at 32, you are going to be a

fraction slower than perhaps you were 2526. I don't think it's

necessarily as to be a great deal of difference. The reality is, when you

are comparing movement, That's the way you play from the

back of the court. Both players are establishing rhythm.

Going into that backhand a lot. He acknowledged it. Quite surprised. It

looks very nice and it is nice, controlled hitting. Good, long

rallies. If Richard Gasquet is going to have any impact in this match, it

will be if he gets a rhythm and Roger Federer is giving him his

rhythm. Roger Federer has to take gasket's

time away. He has got big swings. He has to rush him.

Sometimes, we are guilty of acting like there is a crisis but there is

no crisis. He is still playing very nicely. It is just that three guys

are definitely better at him at the moment.

Thought better of it that time. He had a quick look at it coming in and

thought, I don't think so. Just to let you know what this event

is. If you haven't been with us this week, this is the world tour finals.

The top eight in the world, minus Andy Murray who has got it back

back. He's had surgery and is getting better. Richard Gasquet got

him, he is the ninth best player, on results

This is the season-ending finale and it is a real showcase. It has been

in London for a while now. It would be here next two more. In terms of

the hosting, this has dastardly been the greatest success since Madison

Square Garden, I would say. That was so funny. Roger Federer

hells like he was going to play a drop shot and then drove through the

ball. And that is the sort of rally that

Roger Federer wants to play. Patients, followed by an attack to

the sort of rally that Roger Federer wants to play. Patients, followed by

an attack beforehand. Patients with purpose.

Because these two players lost their opening matches, this is a must win

match. Roger Federer has started, not nervously perhaps, but a couple

of errors you would not expecting to make. Oh, that's beautiful.

Even at this early stage, is Richard Gasquet going to make an impact on

the federal game here? -- Federer. Is the early stages. If you want to

get in touch with us, feel free. Paris, the kids were in Paris... I

think it is a pretty full crew. His dad, Robbie, is in town. His mum,

Lynette, is not. Federer beat one man teamed Potter

in Paris last week. -- Juan Martin Del Potro.

Ah! Richard Gasquet tried some skulduggery as he came forward for

the drop shot and federal wasn't buying it. Look at this.

starts going into the box of tricks like that backhand drop shot. It was

a thing of beauty. Some advice for Richard Gasquet? The

predicament playing Roger Federer is he is always looking to dictate.

Then you get a little bit reactive. forehand, why would you slice

forehand approach? For fun? A disguise?

one dictating. He puts Roger Federer on the defensive. 99 times out of

100, he will make land. grass. Not a surprise, really. Given

the scenario here, it is a must win match. You really feel Gasquet has

got to lay it on the line and be aggressive. He does not have

anything to lose. He is playing the greatest player of all-time. Let us

go out there and be aggressive and see if we can make something happen.

Federer has not been playing his best but I do not think he is going

to beat himself so you have got to make it happen. Richard Gasquet, the

winner of three this year. make it happen. Richard Gasquet, the

admirable effort and Richard Gasquet will finish the year as the French

number one ahead of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He is looking to engineer

opportunities to Against the one hand, it is such an

effective serve. Get up very high. 77 seconds for the those four

points. Experimenting with the change of racket was interesting

after Wimbledon. Trying to find solutions where there was never a

problem in previous years. Racket head, changes in tension, different

strings, who knows. He has gone back to old faithful now. It is not the

arrow, it is the Indian. A great point from Federer. From

Gasquet's point of view, it is being played on Federer's terms. Gasquet

has got to make Federer. -- make Federer run.

commend Andy Murray, Wimbledon champion and Olympic gold medallist,

on his Twitter account earlier on today. He had something to say. He

has become active in that area. People have been following him with

great interest. Talking about, I assume, the ban of Viktor Troicki

for his failure to provide a timely blood sample. He has been banned for

12 months. Back dated to July. He will be reinstated into the game

next July. He failed to give a blood sample and the Court of arbitration

for sport have upheld the ban. Essentially it came down to the drug

testers against him. Andy said, read the rules and it is simple. I do not

have the exact thing in front of me. Did you see that? Hole I heard about

it. Read and follow the Did you see that? Hole I heard about

simple. That is what he said. If you are a professional athlete and you

are required to give a urine sample or a blood sample and you don't, you

are going to be in trouble. He did not say he was referring to that but

the assumption by the press guys was that was what he was talking about.

Commendable leadership. If he is not talking about that, we apologise.

You talk about his footwork, back injuries, rackets, there is no way

he should miss that shot. He has got the ball he wants, down 15-30. Paul

shot. -- Gasquet is back in this first set!

He did it by coming forward and a little help from errors. Errors on

Federer's side of the court. His coach and Sebastien Grosjean and

everyone in French tennis, they all contribute. They have been saying to

Soaking up pressure like that is rankings and built

Soaking up pressure like that is difficult. I know he hits the ball a

lot higher over the net than most opponents. But if you leave a ball

on a court of this speed short, it will get the treatment.

Good work from Federer. Again, mid-court ball. It is almost

That is good! Again, forward. Gasquet can be an absolute

powerhouse when he comes in. He can whip the ball from beneath the

height of the net like that any time. Wonderful backhand.

It is a nice idea, the serve and volley.

A wraparound on the forehand. Federer will serve for the first

set. Bit hit and miss. Both players. It is not rocket science and when we

have watched Federer over the years, he has made the game look

ridiculously easy, playing at such a high level and not making unforced

errors. Suddenly, in the last three, four, five, six months, the unforced

errors have crept in. He does not want to suddenly plagued

conservatively and keep the ball in the court. He has got to maintain

the aggression. In the last service game of Gasquet's, they played five

points and no mistakes from Federer and he won

points and no mistakes from Federer second round when he lost, he had 36

consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals. There are only four a

year. That was one of the records his fellow professionals were left

open-mouthed about. Remarkable. There are not many people who play

36 consecutive Grand Slam is let alone make the quarterfinals. Just

ago as a spectator 36 times is fairly limited!

Miles out. It did looked out. The ball was called out.

Miles out. It did looked out. Federer has stayed where he is for

his second serve. He is in an exhibition sort of

mood. He has played six or seven shots...

wraps it up six to four. There is doubt in the middle and management

dad's right. -- there is his dad. He has gone out on his own, actually.

No longer with any management. Quite a big piece of news if you are in

tennis circles. Andy Murray has gone with the French outfit yesterday.

That has all been signed up. Simon Fuller is still involved. We will

have a good look at the numbers before we talk about that. Murray is

perhaps thinking about the numbers, maximising his commercial worth.

Solid from federal. 62% first serves -- solid from Federer. We have seen

it higher. Doing a good job. Unforced errors, I would like to see

it higher. Doing a good job. he is just rallying. Is he going to

go for the shots? Is he going to move forward? Your views on

management, Andy Murray getting involved are taking big decisions.

That is right. On that front, there has been a few changes over the

years. The reality is, he has done the hard work. US Open, Olympics,

Wimbledon champion. He has got to take advantage of that. I think he

could debate -- you could debate whether he has so it is very

important that now his business affairs are taken care of off the

court and he can concentrate on what happens on the court and get on with

his rehab. He deserves to reap the rewards. Murray will only play the

Australian Open if he feels he has a chance to win it.

to the 2nd of February. Murray will perhaps be ready for that.

Just dragging the ball back on the backhand side, Federer, having

advanced to the net. He will consider himself a little bit

unlucky, Gasquet, to have seen Federer's volley doing that.

That is probably the rally of the match. Poor old Richard is getting

the runaround here. Doing the army drill. Left, right. Left, right.

UMPIRE: Richard Gasquet is challenging the call. The ball was

called out. Regardless of what happens here,

Richard Gasquet has had a year to be proud of. He has had his best ever

year in terms of total wins. Whether he gets any more here or not. A

semifinal at the US Open. His he gets any more here or not. A

challenging the call on the right. The ball was called in.

Last time Gasquet, beat Novak Djokovic, didn't beat anybody else.

Federer, 12 consecutive appearances and six victories at these

championships. This was not easy. Highball, to be

able to do this and get it down into the court with enough power to make

it bounce over to your opponent He lined up to hit it once again and

as he did in the first set, pushed it through deep, keeping it low with

slice. Then a cut-off stop volley. If Richard is going to stay involved

in this match, he had better not lose his serve here.

Decent hold from a break point down. Gasquet still in. Just. Gasquet's

highlight was obviously a semifinal at the US Open when he lost to the

eventual champion the dial. Fourth round at Roland Garros -- the

eventual champion Rafa Nadal. Back from Borussia Dortmund.

eventual champion Rafa Nadal. Back Good for Arsenal.

Fantastic venue. 17,500. Would you keep it here after 2015 if you were

the boss? I think it is important to see what other options are out

there. This is an event city 's bid for. It is important for tennis

being a global game that we take it around the world. When it works as

well as this, the highest attended single week tennis event in history,

you have got to have a pretty good reason to take it somewhere else.

Oh, he has just managed to squeeze that one over the net. I don't think

Fed expected this one to come over. It looked like he was in control of

the point. Now, Darren 0-30. That was a wonderful point. Once

Richard Gasquet had Fedor on the run here, they covered a lot of ground.

Do you want to come and join us that day? You had to make do with me a

few weeks ago, a pathetic substitutes! I had a nice time!

Tommy asks, is the one teach it to your gills for instance?

Well, I probably wouldn't teach them tennis. . Are you? They don't really

play tennis. If I was working with a young player, I think the reality

is, you go with a two hander. You've got to move very well. You're

definitely able to get on top of the ball early and look at the

two-handed backhand is now, The ones that have gone in, have

gone out wide, including that massive first serve.

The ball was called out. Just trying to resist and looking up to the big

scoreboard here. She was proved right. Where is the cutaway? Good

for you. move, is there? And the speed with

which the opponent moves to hit the passing shot. You've got to make

sure that you choose your movement, execute the approach shot to give

yourself the opportunity of getting into the right chord position. There

are not many people who can really do that that well these days. Who is

the best volleyer here? Probably one of the double skies. -- guys.

It has got to be Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer, hasn't it?

Probably Rafael Nadal. Although it's tight.

Talking of good volleys, that was a good one.

have one more match is land that ever. Jimmy Connors has 1253.

Amazing how long he was around. Roger Federer will certainly

overtake the third placed player. Records are falling the whole time.

What is captivating is just watching perhaps our best ever player in the

sport that we love trying to deal with new challenges.

You wonder if he can ever get in amongst the top players again. Do

you see him up at the top again? It's going to be hard.

you see him up at the top again? adversity. He hasn't harmed things

his own way for the last six or nine months and I think it would be

fascinating to see how he responds in 2014.

travelled during a point. Richard Gasquet giving it everything.

I mean that was going to be the last shot of the rally one way or

another. He was getting dragged everywhere on that. What a shot

though! He had that when he was 16 years old.

He is having a right swing here. The back and kept in the game.

So, a little crisis averted and that will knock the stuffing out of

Richard Gasquet because he absolutely should have won the break

point which he had it. You did all the running. Really, that was a very

simple ball, wasn't it? The short back and when he was at the net, you

would have liked him to have done more. Still, it was a pretty tasty

lob from Roger Federer. If Richard Gasquet is going to hang

in there, he has got to be where Wattie comes in on.

least make Fedor serve for it. -- Federer.

Even when you have won as much as federal, there are still a few

nerves at the end. -- as much as Federer.

UMPIRE: Mr Gasquet is challenging the call. She was right last time

and she is right again. You can easily disrupt the rhythm

between first and second serves. It is a fourth match point.

Slightly more touchy than we have seen him before. A bit of verbal

dialogue. To himself. Slammed the ball out earlier, got a few

catcalls. Federer scowls. That is a tantrum, as far as he is concerned!

he had the forehand pass, didn't he?

This was always going to be a difficult thing to achieve. Roger

Federer wins in straight sets. He struggled at the end to produce his

best tennis on his match points but struggled at the end to produce his

will take him into the semifinals. This may well come down to Roger

Federer to Juan Martin Del Potro. It is goodbye from Richard as he waves

goodbye. Last match for him. It does not get easier. This is how he went

out in an hour and 21 minutes. He hit a lot more winners, Federer. Too

many unforced errors from Gasquet. Federer coming to the net

effectively. Straight sets win and some beautiful and stylish tennis as

usual as well as some errors. The bottom line is,

usual as well as some errors. The win, but on your 12th appearance at

the world tour finals. In a macro I am happy to be back. CHEERING I love

playing here in London, so many good memories from Wimbledon and it is

nice to be back and I am very happy about today's match. Richard has an

incredible playing style and beautiful shotmaking. It was tough

out there. Especially using three macro losing the first one.

You have played 11 second-round group matches in this competition

and you have never lost one so he got you on a bad day. Lucky. 12

times lucky? I don't know. Maybe. A big win for me and hopefully I can

keep it up against one Martin. Pot review has

watching tonight? Novak Djokovic against Del Potro. There are a lot

of calculation is going on. 3-way race with money macro, Del Potro and

myself are not was quite complicated -- with Murray. Hopefully, it will

not be that close this time round. It will make for an exciting finish

and hopefully a good match. They played a great final in Shanghai.

Hopefully, they can produce something similar for you guys. Have

you been able to do anything in London? Pilot yesterday and you were

pretty busy picking up three ATP awards, for an 11th time, fans

favourite... CHEERING A few of them voted for you

favourite... CHEERING A few of them future generations of nice guys on

tour, I am not sure, but we have good camaraderie at the top. It is

voted by the players so it is special for me. I have not had that

much time in London. We came straight from Paris. I have been

trying to recover and picking up some awards along the way. Thank

you, everyone. Congratulations. Good luck for your next match. Thank you.

SUE BARKER: You somehow feel he will win a few more. Federer has won his

first match at this tournament. Whatever happens tonight against

Novak Djokovic and Del Potro, they will be level with federal comedy

user, and it will be decided Saturday. We

threat against Stanislas Wawrinka. You can follow it on five live

sports extra. That is tomorrow. Let us look back a little more on today.

It did not quite deliver the match I was hoping for. It had flashes of

brilliance. That has been one of Federer's problems. He can still hit

incredible shots but there are too many peaks and troughs. That is

mental more than anything. Nothing has changed in his game. It is

having the consistent intensity to not put himself in trouble. There

are plenty of times when he plays very good points but then he makes

unforced errors and you think, he is down 15-30 on his serve, and it gets

a bit tricky. He lost his serve in the first set playing a poor game,

making unforced errors. I think he could be a bit more disciplined

mentally and cut the could be a bit more disciplined

drop shot. I loved this one. This is real speed. There is no way in the

world you will get that. He literally just chops the legs right

off it and it drops over the net and it dies. It is like a fried egg.

Beautiful shot. When he starts doing this stuff, it tells you that he

likes playing it and it often means he is not concentrating 100%. When

these things start coming in, it is an indication he is half there. He

is experiment in and interesting himself. He has done this for 12, 15

years. Sometimes I just think he comes in and sometimes goes out. It

is beautiful to watch but it may not be the way he will win the

tournament. When you reflect on his previous decade of playing the game,

he has made it look ridiculously easy.

he has made it look ridiculously basics. That is not what his game is

about. He has probably be best forehand in the game. He has got to

use it. When he starts to do that more and more in practice and

bringing back the mental discipline, then I think it will go

to him. It will cut out the unforced errors and make life very difficult

for his opponent. There were flashes of brilliance. We will show you some

best moments. The forehand, the inside out forehand was quite deadly

today at times. Again, I would like to see him using a little bit more.

He has been so comfortable and confident on his backhand that I

think when he can hit that type of serve and then try and open up, get

his forehand and play... It is almost the case against Gasquet but

there was no wait... I do you have to do against him? !

That was a great shot from Federer. But he should not have had the

opportunity. Gasquet is four feet from the net and he can hit it

anywhere and he hits it six feet from the baseline and seven feet

from the sideline. You are giving Federer a second bite of the cherry.

He should not have done that. A good shot from Federer but he should not

have had the opportunity. I wanted to talk about the budget and the

players' performance budget which has been cut. The players will have

to give back 20% of their prize money. We will talk about that

tomorrow. If we have a rain delay! We have been giving them a hex on

the players because when we choose music to end the programme with,

they lose the match. Today it is Richard Gasquet.