Federer maintains perfect record

Defending champion Roger Federer kept his perfect record intact at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals this year with a 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory over Mardy Fish at the O2 Arena.

The world number four had already secured his place in the semi-finals with Tuesday’s stunning win over Rafael Nadal, while Fish was playing purely for pride after two defeats.

The victory was Federer’s eighth in a row at the tournament after he went through last year’s event unbeaten, while he also made it 15 successive victories since the US Open.

Federer felt his failure to reach the same heights he found against Nadal may have been down to the fact it was a dead rubber.

He said: “It’s a matter of trying to do the exact same thing knowing I don’t really need to win, but maybe because I know that somewhere you just don’t play the same way.

“But I still have to give credit to Mardy. The first set wasn’t as one-sided as the score suggested, and the second set he played great.

Federer took time out on Wednesday night to join good friend Thierry Henry at Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, returning the compliment after the Frenchman came to the O2 on Sunday.