Roger Federer started his bid for a seventh ATP Tour Finals title in record-breaking fashion as the Swiss great crushed Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-1 at London's O2 Arena.
Federer's victory took him to 40 match wins in his 11 appearances at the prestigious season-ending event, breaking the previous record of 39 held by Ivan Lendl.
Federer, who lost the world number one ranking to Novak Djokovic this week, opted against defending his Paris Masters crown last week to prepare for London and he declared himself in good shape.
The 31-year-old said: "I'm happy that I feel fine just in time.
"I still had some little things I had to work through the last couple of days. Really since yesterday I feel fine. So obviously it was good for me to start on Tuesday.
"I'm happy with my performance today. I have no pain anymore anywhere. I'm happy with my level of play today against Janko, who is obviously a good player."
Federer took control from the off, to the delight of his many fans in the arena, breaking the Tipsarevic serve in the second game and cruising through the rest of the first set.
Tipsarevic, a direct entrant here because of Rafael Nadal's withdrawal through injury, had never beaten Federer in five previous meetings so the omens were not good and, after holding serve at the start of the second set, he lost six straight games.
The Serb retired during his quarter-final in Paris last week because of dizziness and is still not feeling 100%, but he refused to blame that for today's defeat.
"I think Roger was just too good," said Tipsarevic, who has now lost all six matches he has played against Federer.
Fourth seed David Ferrer made it 11 victories in a row with an entertaining 6-3 3-6 6-4 win over Juan Martín del Potro.
The Spaniard came into the tournament on the back of titles in Valencia and Paris, his first Masters crown, and made a fast start despite only lifting the trophy in the French capital on Sunday.
Del Potro hit back and was right in contention when he levelled for 4-4 in the decider but serving to stay in the match he could withstand the pressure from the other end no longer.
In his second match on Thursday, Ferrer will meet Federer looking for a first win in 14 meetings.
The 30-year-old said: "I am always positive. I had one day to rest. I am playing with a lot of confidence in my game.
"I have never beaten Roger. I think I will have to play very aggressive all the time to have one chance to beat him."
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us
[ @SprtNationalUAE ]
