Day 7: Semi-Final: Nadal v Federer Tennis: World Tour Finals

For me, that was it, hitting balls against the wall, the cupboard, the

Raj against the wall, the cupboard, the

understanding how far you need to push us. Many underestimate the fact

that if you want to be a tennis player, it is not just training five

minutes from your house. It is a very difficult situation in the real

world. You have to be committed, dedicated and professional for the

sports to get your best. Here I am now, very proud. The first goal

every player has is making the semifinals. I'm really happy, my

family will be here. It will be special. It has been one of the most

special seasons of my career. You have to grab the opportunity when it

is resented. It is time for the best match. If

you are going to follow your dream, that young man has come to the right

place. On court today, two great champions, two of the most admired

men not just in tennis but in champions, two of the most admired

the world number one, the man to beat. Roger came through a tough

match yesterday against Juan Martin Del Potro, has he got enough left

today? Winner 17 grand slam titles, from Switzerland, Roger Federer!

What better way to send your Sunday afternoon? I was just thinking, I

grew up in an age, watching Connors, McEnroe, Lendl joined them.

Then we came through the Becker and end Berg rivalry. Sampras and Agassi

were captivating in the 90s. And then this rivalry which is

nourishment these guys are responsible for it.

When you look at how Roger has got himself back in what has been a very

difficult year? When you reflect on his match yesterday against Juan

Martin Del Potro, he gave him a 5-1 lead in the second, and he was still

able to come out and find a way. You saw by his reaction how much this

means to him. You said it is their 32nd meeting between these two,

there are plenty of statistics but no prescription to make it out on

the court. Is going to be fascinating to see who comes first.

They may never get out, but pretty likes to be the one in charge of the

running order, he only comes out when he is ready. Even that bit!

between points. Heads, please. It is tails. Receive? OK.

What a lovely photo for the album. The all-time greats of tennis,

Roger, 17 grand slam titles, Rafa, 18 and boy, are we looking forward

to this. Here he goes! Even that gets a massive cheer here at the O2,

they love it. What a lovely acknowledgement of each other at the

net. Before they went back to the baseline. You do not know family

times you will see Roger in this position from now on. Also Rafa with

his knee. position from now on. Also Rafa with

captivating viewing. How will he do it today? Can he take the ball out

of his backhand corner enough and effectively against the Rafa whipped

forehand? It is a very beautiful thing to watch when these people

play, I hope people stay with us this afternoon. Absolutely. The

first of the semifinals here at the Barclays ATP World Tour finals, that

is what we are looking forward to. Can I's match, Novak Djokovic should

up against Stanislas Wawrinka. If you want to listen to that, you can,

it is on radio five live sports extra this evening. When you look at

the head to these two people, players out here, outstanding

records, both of them. We thought no one would ever touch Roger's record

but Rafa is closing in. Absolutely. When you think that their direct at

times, and Federer has only 110. But Rafa has never beaten Roger in

doors, they have played four times and Roger has won all four matches.

But they have played three times this year and Rafa has won all

three. When you reflect on the matches so far, they played OK, I do

not think they have played brilliantly. Worrying aspects for

Federer is he has had 41 service games and he has lost his serve ten

times. He has gone tournaments where he has won five matches and not

gloss to serve. When he plays well, his -- and not lost the serve. There

have been too many troughs in his game, who will maintain the

consistency? They will win the match today. Let's compare the records as

far as both players are concerned. Roger is

far as both players are concerned. time. -- Rafael Nadal is the best

player of all time soon. The greatest match for me was the

Wimbledon final, it was the head-to-head where it was the first

time that Roger was beaten on his surface. It was a great thing. Rafa

is the best ever on clay, and Roger is the best ever on grass. When they

have both been at their height, Rafa has won more than Roger has. That is

telling at the bottom, the four meetings in doors, they have only

met in doors four years ago. There is history here. When they play

outdoors with Rafa's game, when he is

outdoors with Rafa's game, when he doors you have no variables. Roger

can step in and take that backhand a bit earlier. He is able to play

closer to the line and take more risks. Can he sustain that? We have

seen some brilliant tennis but there have been some really inconsistent

moments. One of the aspects we were looking at, we would like to know

the number of unforced errors that Roger has made in his matches and it

has been a lot. At times he has been back to his majestic best, but there

are lapses of concentration, it is the mental side. It has not been a

great year for Roger. He is seventh in the world, and a 12th consecutive

final, so that you would not call it a crisis. No one should feel sorry

for Roger, he has had a glorious career. Finding a way past Juan

Martin Del Potro showed how much he wanted an opportunity

Martin Del Potro showed how much he is favourite. But even more glory if

he gets the job done. He was second best against Del Potro but he still

made his way. Physically it will be tough today, up against Rafa, who

had a day off. Roger would have loved to have had a day off because

it was brutal against Dell pottery. -- Del Potro. Yes, it was tough

mentally and you could see that Federer was getting frustrated,

there was a lot of internal dialogue. It was stressful match. He

will need to recharge his batteries as much as possible. It is only the

best of three sets and indoors, those are the best conditions for

Roger. He definitely comes in as the underdog which I think you might

Roger. He definitely comes in as the no one believed him! I'm sure it is

slightly tongue in cheek! I still give Federer a good chance in this

much. Whatever happens, I think this tournament has given his Roger away

up there again. He has played well, he is due to the semifinals which is

a good achievement. In a funny sort of way out was thinking to myself, I

almost hope that he lost yesterday 6-1, 6-4 so he would go away and

think, something needs to be addressed. He needs to do a lot of

work in the off-season, get that intensity and that ruthlessness back

into his game. There have been way too many unforced errors, he has got

to cut that out and be consistently aggressive from the baseline. That

is his challenge today and that will be his talent moving forward next

year. He will need to be his talent moving forward next

Twitter or on Facebook. These are two giants of the game and this is a

heavyweight clash, and Rafa is going to come out like he is going into

the ring for a heavyweight cash. We are ready for it in the company of

Tim and Andy. ANDREW CASTLE: 30 grandsons between

them, semifinal at the Barclays ATP World Tour. Enjoy the match. -- 30

Grand Slams. It is a much better start for Roger

Federer than in any of the three sets he played in his last group

match against Juan Martin Del Potro. He has come out with real intensity

and one feels it is up to Roger today, the standard he can

maintain. You know that Nadal is go to come out and set a high standard

of the world number one. It is a question is whether Roger can stay

there for long enough. That is right. That was the first of many

hurdles today, get off from the word go with a strong start which was not

evident against Del Potro. If you can keep his nose in front, and

start to build a bit of pressure, he needs to get off to a fast start.

end the year as the world number one.

end the year as the world number one, took over in October. He will

end the year one, took over in October. He will

we will see Federer you Saturday. -- use that

It is not the worst time to miss that forehand, 40-15, but he cannot

start missing that forehand at 15-15 all 30-30. You do not want to miss

it at all. saying. And it is back to deuce.

Mum, dad, sister. Girlfriend, she is here.

The minicrisis averted the Federer, she stays ahead. You get the feeling

that Federer's forehand is going to be hitting Nadal's forehand

that Federer's forehand is going to forehand side, you just cannot let

the rally go on. Yes, you have got to try and dominate. The best way to

try and set up the forehand with the first to serve. We does not

necessarily have do serve aces, but if he can get a defensive reply from

Nadal, he can play the match on his terms. Once Rafa gets into these

long rallies, he can get that heavy top hand spin, you can smell trouble

for Federer. The 32nd meeting, some run before grand slam finals they

have played. The 2008 final at Wimbledon is personally the greatest

singles match I have ever seen, it represented such a handover of power

to Nadal. The first final at doubled in that he had

to Nadal. The first final at doubled he has been very happy to knock it

right down the middle. And a few more out wide. On this surface, he

needs to get a little bit of extra work to pick up three points, he

flattens it out a bit. Obviously, at this stage of the

tournament, after the round robin matches in both groups, we get 70

different statistics. It is surprising to me, I do not know

about you, how dominant Wawrinka has been on serve compared to other

opponents. Wawrinka is playing against Novak

Djokovic in I shook hands of the Royal Marines

yesterday. A former captain. And I thought he had a firm handshake, but

if you shake hands with Roger Federer, you know what strong hands

are about! Everyone thinks that logo on Roger

Federer's shirt is for himself, Robbie says it is for him!

That is another hold for Federer, an easy one at that.

For the record, choice first and I am allowing you

to name the amount of cups of tea up to and including three. Very kind! I

would like to see a tie-break between these two. They have played

20, and it is ten all. For a cup of tea, I am 0-5 this week. Who is

going to win? I will take Rafa. And how many cups of tea would you like

to put on it? Three! OK! So I will have to go with Roger, although I

believe Rafa is the favourite here. Three cups of tea it is. And if this

match goes on and you are watching this at home, I am sure you enjoying

a cup of tea! A good start for Federer. And important start. He was

so poor in the early start of each of the

Now, this is just superb. Heavy serve out why to the backhand. I

can't remember ever seeing Nadal lose a point from that situation. He

just dominates right from the word go.

His forehand has to be the best ever. I can't think of another shot

to compare to it. I think it is pretty tough to write off the

Federer's forehand. They think the advantage he has is here's a lefty.

But it should work the other way. It doesn't.

It does work for the right-hander. It is just there are so few

left-handers. Just wish the crowd would get into

it! You could say Federer made him play

on the break point but the chip down the middle of the court to Nadal's

forehand is just not going to get it done.

What will further -- Federer do on this point?

16 of 18 of his first serves have gone in. Nadal.

Three break points saved. today. It's a big match. A season

close for one of these two. This is the semifinal. What a grand finale

it is in London once again. First serve percentage higher, and

when he has his first serve in, Federer, he has actually lost only

one point. These guys know each other so well, don't they? Is

Federer doing anything differently than you might have expected? Flatly

not. There are no secrets. They know each other's game inside out and, on

the whole, they know what will be successful and what

the whole, they know what will be spent the best part of nine years on

tour together. Are they friends? Do they get on? Is their rivalry? They

do. A huge amount of respect for each other and they are generally

good friends. They have played exhibitions together. It is amazing

to think they can have had in that big a rivalry at the biggest and

best tournaments in the world and still get on so well. I think that

is unusual. I think they get on better than their fan base is do!

You can see how tribal people become. Just embrace the tennis.

Look at the standard. They have absolutely notched it up, threw

2005, six, seven, when it got going. -- through. And then Djokovic joined

the party and finished So, the first game receiving with

this new set of six tennis balls. Rafa lobster return with a nice new

racket. -- loves to return. A quick issue match so far. Eight games

played. First double fault of the match.

Federer on his way into a second serve and volley point there.

No, that's not going to get it done and Nadal picks it up with a whip of

the forehand side. He will have looked up and he will be grateful

indeed for this shot. Ethnically the right shot for Federer to move

The double fault has cost him dear. forehand there. He could

The double fault has cost him dear. Suddenly Nadal with two break

points. His first of the match. That's fabulous! A brutal assault on

that forehand side. And it's a break.

mean, this is an unbelievable shot. If people could be here to listen to

the noise off that racket. It is so aggressive but it still has margin

for error, because those bulls are probably five, six feet above the

net. Look at this slow motion here. All of the big muscles coming into

play, the right-hander cross, it will clear... And watch the racket

which through this ball. It is away and it hits the floor other side and

it rears and bounces. We have seen the stats on the revolutions of the

ball and he is able to get so much more spin than anyone else in the

game. Yeah. And amazing one of the key moments, I think. Bad

choice when he had the approach shot because he tried to chip and coming

beforehand. If you have the choice to come in Nadal's forehand or

backhand, I think eight times out of ten you have to be looking to coming

on the backhand. -- to come in. And so the world number one serves for

the first set of this semifinal. Federer able to get Nadal

off-balance with a little change of It was Stella stuff from both of

them. Racked up, unable to chase this one down. Federer pulls the

trigger and he has two break back points.

Not sure how many shots were left in Federer's racket that money! It was

exhausting! -- that rally. Well, that is a wonderful response

to losing his own serve. And we did ask the question earlier, is he

feeling that much yesterday against a portrait? Not yet. -- that match

against Del Potro? Early Christmas present there from

Nadal. Federer needs to find the mark with his first serve because

that invariably sets him up for the second shot to get dictating. These

rallies look great but they don't favour Federer.

These two have won so many awards this year. One of the most improved

shots over the last couple of years is that Nadal forehand down the

line. Illustrating what Tim Henman has

been talking about. Nadal will put you under pressure if you miss your

first serve. UMPIRE: Mr Fedor is challenging the

The second break in a row for Nadal. Federer.

The second break in a row for Nadal. He will serve for the first set

against. London buses and all that! Three

breaks of serve in a row! Do you agree with that forehand? Because

Nadal was going into Djokovic on the backhand side so much and Djokovic

was responding and beating him, he talked about how the down the line

forehand was getting more important. I think that's such an improved

shot. It certainly is an important shot. The way you want to exploit

the movement of a two hander, although Djokovic does move

incredibly well to the two-handed backhand, you have to go to the

forehand with strength to open up the backhand. Rafa has such a good

forehand he can hit anywhere but the down the line shot is always going

to be important. down the line shot is always going

trying to miss but only making one served in that game. And that

challenge illustrated a frame of mind, didn't it? Just checking. He

was desperate for that to be in. He served OK in the early part of this

set. His first serve percentage has dropped to 61, which is OK in a set,

but in the last couple of service games he hasn't made those Serbs. He

has only won four of 12 points. -- hasn't made those serves.

So, the tennis year begins to draw to a close. We have seen four

tremendous grand slam Championships. Just the Davis Cup to go. In Serbia.

-- in Belgrade. Almost three quarters of an hour played in the

second meeting between Federer and Nadal. This wonderful rivalry. And

here are the stats. First serve points for Roger Federer going from

79 down to 33. Is there anything he can change when he is under attack?

Therein lies the problem. He has got to hit few of them. He has to make

the first serves. 61% to hit few of them. He has to make

be a long afternoon for Federer. He is winning 75% of first serve points

and 60% in the second. This sport, just by this event and the four

grand slams, is very tough. An extraordinary record over seven and

a half years for these two. Djokovic has taken a real bite over the last

two years and has ended the year as world number one. And Andy Murray

now has Wimbledon, and hasn't he done fantastically well to become

involved in this fight? So, a great quartet, really, at the top of the

game, but these two started it. Yes. 36 slams between

Philip looks, chairman of the All-England Club, next to Marion

Bartoli. She retired after winning Wimbledon this year, it was a real

shock. Philip, my golfing partner next week

at Augusta National. Philip, my golfing partner next week

better and that is it for me. Good to her for making that decision. A

bold move to make. She came back for the closing of the grass courts at

Wimbledon in September and hit a few balls in the tournament. Member of

the club for life and she loves it, she was at the tennis ball last

night. She was asked about whether she would come back and she

reiterated her point, never, ever. She worked so hard. To finish with

Wimbledon, you cannot go out better than that.

Teddy Nadal got told off by Wawrinka earlier on, for coaching little bit

this is firstly. It was citing -- little bit loudly. It was sorted out

later in a friendly manner. Had the ball absolutely on his

racket to ban a break point. -- to earn a break point.

It looks so simple when he executes. Not going with the slice

with Nadal the chance to bring the forehand, a hit to bring the

forehand into place. Oh, wow! Federer looking to get his

forehand into play once again. When do you think Nadal will retire,

says this message? When he wants to. Thank you! #BBCTennis. Sometimes Kim

gives longer answers. Zak says, do you think Rafa can

eclipse Roger's grand slam record? Yellow, yes I said you can.

What a that Rafa could go through him. So

Federer hanging in there and keeping it close. Coming up to an hour

played. It is the first set to Rafa, on serve in the second. And these

are the grand slam winners. Roger Federer with 17, the most ever,

after that, a contemporary of yours, Peter Sampras. You played three of

those at the top! Who would you say is a greater player, Nadal or

Sampras? Winning all four is absolutely amazing. In the days of

Roy Emerson who was fabulous, people did not travel to Australia so much.

And he won six Australian titles. Three of the

And he won six Australian titles. ended up with? It is a big argument.

The two guys we are watching are two of the great. Just listen to the

atmosphere. It is absolutely magnificent. Another sell out crowd.

We have had this event in Houston and Shanghai. It did not even come

close to this. The days of Frankfurt, they were quite fun

because Boris Becker was there. They loved it. It is here for two more

years. And then the bids will come in from cities around the world but

I think it has got to be a strong bid. You should use your powerful

and influential friends to keep it here!

Once again, 15-30. It is an unfortunate trend for Federer. When

he has made one unforced error, the second and third have followed and

he cannot afford that now. Victory behind a second serve for

Federer, he pulls the backhand out wide, Rafa. He has served his way

out of trouble in the previous game. I think there's a couple of things

that you could say about the Swiss, but you know that Nadal is going to

pick you off. A forehand down the line, that one open to art, that

wally I suppose could have been better. It is the approach shot to

me. He better. It is the approach shot to

the rafters here at the O2. And Nadal is a break up in the second

set. It feels like a tide here. Just as we have the Thames flowing

outside the O2, there is a tide in here and you feel, I am just not

sure there is a solution for Federer today for this. Maybe not today. It

has always been a conundrum for Federer when he is playing Nadal. He

knows the right tactic, he has got to find the controlled aggression,

hit the spot on his serve, look to dominate with his forehand. If he is

going to go to the forehand he has got to go to their with strength to

open up the backhand and finish the point on the net. Alex is enjoying

the match, sitting down with eight cup, a jar of chocolate

the match, sitting down with eight year? I am not sure in a year. How

many in a match? Certainly, if you are changing at every ball change,

for a 3-set match, you need five. There is a tie-break in the final

set. In a five set match, you need eight. Tina says, I'm enjoying the

coverage, I am having a lot of cups of tea, how can I include my timing

on groundstrokes? Good footwork and watch the ball. There you go. That

will be 30 degrees! On the left-hand side, the Swiss

Davis Cup captain, friend of Roger Federer, support and coach. He let

his former coach go a few weeks ago after a long-standing relationship

will stop round of Wimbledon, and the

Ukrainian beat him. He fiddled around with his racket and changed

to a slightly bigger head. He has got rid of eight coach, so one or

two changes in his camp. And that loss in the second round of

Wimbledon, for a seven time champion, it snapped ashtray of 36

consecutive -- it snapped a streak of 36 consecutive Grand Slams where

he had made a quarterfinal at least. different! It made me laugh. This is

how good Nadal is on clay. So they have played only four times

out of 32 times that they have played in total, only four times

indoors, each of those four have been at the season-ending

championships. It is amazing they have not played more indoor than

that. have not played more indoor than

has sealed in his comeback year after seven months off, he came back

in February. He is the year end number four. From 2004, Federer

dominated so much. And then 2008, that Wimbledon final, the changing

of the guard, Nadal finished as number one. Then this streak ended

and Djokovic has been a force for the last two years, until October,

last month, where Nadal took the world number one ranking again. As

soon as that happened, Djokovic beat him in a final! It is a tremendous

reminder of the rivalry that they have. That will probably be the

final on BBC Three tomorrow at 730 PM.

too badly on the two previous ones on the second serve, 83 miles an

hour. For a man of his calibre, that is not good enough.

You can almost sense the belief training away from Federer. There's

a lot of scar tissue from those previous 21 losses.

Does Federer have another push left in him? Another adrenaline fuelled

effort? Aided by 17,500 people in hip this afternoon. -- in here.

If you can just get out of this game, the crowd are going to give

him such a lift in the next. So if he can hang on here...

He has taken a few body blows, has Federer. He had to be Del Potro. And

he did so five in It's too long, it's all over. Not

enough for Federer and Nadal wins in straight sets. Not one of their

great matches but fabulous at the end of the first set. And real

delight for Radford and -- for Rafa Nadal. A tremendous comeback and we

look forward so much to seeing him in the final.

look forward so much to seeing him again. Six times champion. In three

different cities against six different opponents, so he looked

very dejected. He will need to rest, come back and train hard and have a

continual run without injury to get his best form back. But we salute

Rafa Nadal. There is still a Swiss left. That is Stan Wawrinka, who

plays Novak Djokovic. But we are very likely to see Rafa, the world

number one Djokovic, the man he took the top spot from in the final. That

is the final I hope for. BBC Three, 7:30pm tomorrow. With the greatest

of respect to Wawrinka, it is 7:30pm tomorrow. With the greatest

is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and maybe because it is

his, it is worth even more! -- the watch he has. He cut his finger on a

knife earlier this week. Neatly taped. It must take him forever to

get out of bed in the morning! Just a thoroughly good egg, Rafa Nadal.

Unless you are chasing his forehand around! In which case he is a brutal

monster down the other end! But a calm, gentle and considerate man of

the court and a wonderful guy at the top of his game. Some of the numbers

after just under an hour and 20 minutes. Federer just well beaten

today. obviously won. How much would this

one mean to you? It is always a very special tournament and a very

special year in London. One of the best I've ever played. So just many

thanks, everybody, for being here. And for supporting one of the best

events we have in the world of tennis. I will try my best tomorrow

and are now I am going to have a very tough opponent so I will just

play my best for the best chance. Will you watch the semifinal? Is it

at 8pm? You obviously will! You know what time it is! For one hour and 15

minutes, I will be in front of the TV watching the semifinals!

minutes, I will be in front of the The semifinal tonight is Djokovic up

against Amber Brinker. Djokovic on a 20 match winning streak. -- up

against Stanislav Wawrinka. The winner will face Rafa tomorrow. I'd

tell you, he loves his football but we enjoy watching him. Wow! What a

match! There were key moments in that but Federer did look tired in

the end. Yes. But let's not forget, he did have opportunities. He had

that the point chance in the first set and he missed it long. It is

those types of shot, types of opportunity you have to take against

Rafa. He did well. He broke back. But Rafa's intensity is just

relentless and this is the shocked on break point. A lot of

opportunities, tried to fan them out.

opportunities, tried to fan them hasn't been the best year. But I

have seen enough to know he can come back and have a strong 2014. That is

what he has to take away from it, doesn't he? That there are moments

when he is back at his best and he has defined his fitness and

hopefully stay free. He got some more computer points in Switzerland.

And then in Paris he beat Del Potro. He made the semifinals here. There's

been a lot of encouragement from Roger the last few weeks. Before

that, people were really beginning to write him off. He has been back

in the frame, felt the atmosphere again. Tim is right. He has to go

back, lick his wounds, train hard and be ready. I would hate to think

this is the last year we see Federer challenging. But this will have

this is the last year we see Federer with Djokovic, Nadal and Murray. And

I include Andy Murray in that. You picked out a point. Well, you picked

out many! But this is Rafa's shot down the line. Such a weapon. What

is your take on this? A lot of the time, players are better at moving

for their backhands. But what Rafa is able to do is play so

aggressively with his swing and he generates so much spin on the ball,

played with so much power, but also has margin for error, because a lot

of his shots five, six feet over the net and because he has time so much

top spin, it gets at the end. -- he has so much. And it is going into

Federer's one-handed backhand, and that is why when you look at their

head-to-head, that is why when you look at their

responded by working on that forehand down the line and making it

even more effective. Just to win the US Open, he increased the

effectiveness of his serve. The guy is still improving, he is a legend,

and he goes out every day and tries to add something. He is such an

example. It is a beautiful shot to watch anyway and it is a tough hit.

It is not ready out of the textbook but it is such a powerful shot. He

finishes like that, around his head like a lass you, because he goes so

fast through the ball that if he followed through under his chin, he

would take his head off! So that is why he has to follow through over

his head. His footwork is good and he gets in position. If he has time

to set up, he gets in position. If he has time

that? And he did that with victory over Wawrinka. You know what? Rafa

is not even the favourite going into the final after the year he has

had! And this was the emotion at the end of the match that we saw earlier

this week. It was a wonderful moment and perhaps I was guilty of not

understanding how important it was. We sort of took it for granted he

was going to win. But this is what makes him such a great boy. Having

missed the Australian build-up and the Australian Open, a he has now

managed to do it, and it is a phenomenal performance. 17

tournaments now. And ten victories so far with a chance to win his 11.

And then there is the year-end number one trophy. Almost as big as

the Champions League! He won it before but this year will have meant

the most. before but this year will have meant

the Davis Cup, the Olympic gold. This is the one he hasn't. He is

playing the last final of the year, number one in the world, and he

still goes into the match as the underdog. The roll he has been on,

the 20 match winning streak, I think it would be the perfect ending to

the year in that final. But Djokovic has just looked awesome here. Stan

has played some massive tennis this week. His first year in the final.

He has got through to the semifinal and has been serving effectively.

144 miles an hour! His serve. He is completely pumped up, nothing to

lose. Do I think he can be Djokovic and then Nadal? No!

lose. Do I think he can be Djokovic title of the ATP Tour finals. His

first here in London. And he won it against Federer 7-6, 7-5, and sealed

it with another winner. Two hours and 15 minutes of outstanding tennis

and it was a fitting end to another stunning year, and he finished it as

world number one. Boy, the crowd were on their feet. A match we will

remember for a long, long time. That is what it meant to him! World

number one and the trophy! Novak has been making his way to the O2 why

many ways. Boat, taxi, car, and even by cable car! Coming across with

some lovely views of the O2. The river and the Olympic Stadium, as we

can see from there. And he came to deliver this, the trophy. Another

big trophy! He will be in the final maybe tomorrow, possibly

big trophy! He will be in the final energy? I just found after the grand

slam season was over, I thought I'd played the whole tournament really

well and then in the final, lost to Nadal, and after that loss, I sat

with myself and thought about what I wanted to do and just tried to, you

know, find that necessary willpower and focus in order to perform as

well as I did in the last few weeks. It seems ridiculous to say to

somebody who has won the Australian Open and reached the finals of the

French and US, but was it tough to get over the line?

French and US, but was it tough to a great tournament in Wimbledon

again, where were lost in the finals against Murray. And then finals at

the US Open against Nadal again. So the focus up to this autumn part of

the season, I have had quite a turbulent and, let's say, some of

ups and downs. I haven't always kept my calm when I needed to step it up

at it is a process you go through as a professional tennis player and you

need to understand you go through that kind of period and you just

need to stay calm and work on your game and wait for the opportunity.

And when it is presented, you have to grab it. The way I look at it,

every season is a new challenge. A new experience to understand and

learn and then take the best out of it for the next season and what is

to come. with my team.

SUE BARKER: How lovely it must be to have that winning streak. His

confidence must be so high. Yes. It is that adversity. A lot of people

expected him to beat Nadal in the US final but he is so resilient. He is

resilient for these long periods of the season and in points, when he is

getting pushed around. You think he is on the defensive and he is able

to turn that into fences. And he is thinking about his semifinals and

then potentially finals. Already looking ahead to next year after the

Davis Cup. And he is already so tough to put away. You look at the

matches he had in Paris, where he was on the brink of defeat and he

just has that will to win. He doesn't know how to lose. It is

simple as that. He finished the doesn't know how to lose. It is

loss of the year. Wimbledon against Andy Murray, he did exactly the

right thing, lost in three straight sets! And then the US loss. It is

his heart and spirit and he wraps it up in nice PR and does the right

things and he is good to the kids and it is all genuine. But when he

goes out onto the court, he is an absolute warrior. And that is why

the spirit battle, the internal battle, the dialogue. These guys are

frightening in their intensity. Really frightening. He hasn't put a

foot wrong but somehow the crowds haven't taken to him in the same way

as they have to Rafa and Roger. That is no. Is. It just highlights what

incredible players and personalities and icons of sport both Federer and

Nadal. Roger has talked about the way that

Nadal. Roger has talked about the support he gets! And it is

interesting, even Andy said at Wimbledon, that whole match could

have turned again. He has won his fair share of matches from break

point down! Just thinking back to that game, over 11 minutes.

Exhausted! He has spirit and resilience. Since losing that US

Open final, what more can you say? And he will probably win that Davis

Cup as well. But I'd take your point about the crowd and the love, and I

think he takes it a bit personally. I think he is playing to prove

something to everybody. We saw today Marion Bartoli, the Wimbledon

champion, in the crowd. She was having lunch at Wimbledon yesterday

with the chairman and got in a car. It took two

with the chairman and got in a car. hearing that? Not really! It took me

at least a month to realise I really won but everyday I was watching back

and back again the papers and the pictures to make sure it was real!

Nobody could take it away from me. Because I've really felt at some

point that I would just wake up one day and it would be gone from me!

But what an emotion, what a day! You looked like you really didn't take

it all in on the day, so have you watched it back and enjoyed it? I

did, and actually I got the best present today. I've finally got the

BBC commentating my women's final. It took me today to finally get it!

I had the French commentary and the ESPN one. And they made it happen,

so thank you so much for that. We tennis and love to play, even though

I can't play for a long time. But every time I have a racket in my

hand I feel very good. But I don't miss being on the court because I

know deep inside I can't be the same as I was before and it would hurt me

way too much. So, I didn't feel any regrets for even one day. So I know

it was the right decision to take. But what a pleasure every time to be

introduced as the champion of Wimbledon! I will never get tired of

it! Every time thinking about it, I still have those stars in my eyes

from when I was 12 and I dreams about that moment for so long. You

did it in style. What are you going to do next year when US bows to be

opening up Wimbledon on Centre Court?

opening up Wimbledon on Centre court. That is what I think. But

before serving my ace at the match point, I had a flashback of me

practising when I was 11, 12 years old and I was finishing my practice

always extremely late. And it was my dad telling me at this time, Marion,

one day you will have a very important point to serve and you

will remember this practice. And I would say, yeah, well, let me finish

my practice! But I had this voice in my head just saying, you will have

this important point to serve. And I took my turn and served it. It is

lovely to see you so happy and that your dream came true. Thank you.

Thank you. ARCHIVE: It is lovely to see her and

making your choice to retire is so difficult, but for her it

making your choice to retire is so also... I suspect she will miss

winning, even if not the game. That is the thrill. But maybe does this

all the razzmatazz that went with it. She is a very private person. --

maybe does not miss. Rafa Nadal has defeat Roger Federer in straight

sets, as it was all one way. It always looked one way and still

those lapses of concentration from Roger. Gasquet. He didn't get off to

a bad start but it has just been a bad match. -- yes. You will be able

to see the match tomorrow, the final, on BBC Three at 7:30pm. And

Tim will be