After the wrenching loss to Kei Nishikori, Roger Federer overcame the nightmare from his opening match in the ATP Finals.  Also, he keeps his hopes alive to reach the last four in London. After 48 hours of his error-strewn defeat, he took on the Austrian, Dominic Thiem. Federer defeated the French Open finalist, Thiem 6-2 6-3 and delight the packed O2 arena. “It feels good, I’m very happy I showed a reaction after the last match against Kei,” Federer said.“No match is easy here and it’s not something I’m used to, losing and then coming back and playing again, but it’s a great challenge and I’m happy with my attitude and how I played.”

Up next, its an important tussle for the Swiss. He will face the man who hampered him from continuing his journey at SW19, Kevin Anderson. The South African handed over a bagel and a baguette to Nishikori as he thrashed the Japanese 6-0, 6-1. Also, Anderson leads the Lleyton Hewitt group. He dropped just eight points on his serve- “Amongst the best (matches) I’ve played,” Anderson said.

“I felt I did a fantastic job throughout really.” Beyond the shadows of doubt, Anderson is dexterous in the O2 and had decently dwelled on the London court. The world waits for Kevin’s next match as Federer is mentally and physically prepared to avenge his loss at the Wimbledon his year. “I hope it’s not a match like Kevin played this afternoon,” Federer said.“It’s never easy to play against him, especially indoors. He deserved that win at Wimbledon but hopefully, I’ll get my revenge.”

Mathematically, in this group all the four ATP men have the have the chance to seal a spot in the last four of the Nitto ATP Finals. In the other group, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev have won their opening matches by surpassing the debutant, John Isner and the Croatian Marin Cilic respectively. Today Djokovic and Zverev take on the centre court followed by Cilic and Isner.