LONDON — Stanislas Wawrinka defeated David Ferrer 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-1 Friday to keep alive his hopes of making the last four of the ATP World Tour Finals. But Switzerland's first-time participant in the year-end event will, however, need a victory from Rafael Nadal in a later concluding Group A match over Tomas Berdych. A Nadal loss would give Berdych a spot in the final four alongside the Spanish world No. 1. Wawrinka was pleased with his battling effort against Ferrer in just over two and a quarter hours after throwing away the first set while leading 5-2 but losing in a tiebreaker. “Sure, tonight I will be a big fan of Rafa,” said the winner. “I did my job all the week, did the best I could for all three matches. I'll watch and see what happens. Of course I'll be happy if Rafa wins.” Wawrinka committed a massive 30 unforced errors in the 61-minute first set against the 31-year-old Ferrer. Even if the Spaniard had nothing to lose, and was out of semifinal contention, he fought like a terrier to keep Wawrinka off-balance in the first set. Ferrer rallied from the depths, breaking in the ninth game and again in the 11th for 6-5 after the Swiss saved four break points. But a break-back from Wawrinka leveled at six apiece to bring on the decider. Ferrer sprinted to 3-1 and eventually took the set to Wawrinka's dismay from a Swiss forehand error. Wawrinka came back in the second with an early break which was enough to see him through to one set each. In the third set, the Swiss sensed the finishing line and earned two breaks to bolt home after conversions on six of seven break points. He struck 35 winners and overcame 56 unforced errors. “What can I say, I'm so happy right now,” said Wawrinka, who ended 2-1 in group play. Novak Djokovic insists he is willing to defy his flagging energy levels in a bid to finish the campaign with more glory at the ATP World Tour Finals. The defending champion booked his spot in the semifinals by defeating Argentine fourth seed Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Thursday. It was Djokovic's 19th straight victory dating back to his US Open final defeat by Rafael Nadal. The Serbian only arrived in England Sunday night after winning his third straight title at the Paris Masters and fatigue has inevitably been his biggest opponent to date at the season-ending showpiece. But Djokovic is showing once again that his appetite for victories and titles has no limit. “I had a great start of the season and now a great ending of the season,” he said. “I just feel good at this particular part of the year. I know most of the players are exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally, after a long season. “But I try to find that as an opportunity for me to get extra motivated to push myself to the limit and deliver the goods when needed.” Djokovic discovered Wednesday that his bid to finish the season as world No. 1 had failed after Nadal wrapped up top spot in the year-ending rankings. But the world No. 2 showed no signs of letting that disappointment affect him as he continued his bid to retain Tour Finals title. — Agencies
