ATP Finals: Roger Federer gets campaign back on track with straight-sets win over Matteo Berrettini

The 38-year-old, beaten in his opening round-robin match by Dominic Thiem, needed a victory over eighth-ranked Italian Berrettini to keep alive his hopes of reaching the semi-finals

Roger Federer got his ATP Finals campaign back on track with a straight-sets win over Matteo Berrettini at London’s 02.

The 38-year-old, beaten in his opening round-robin match by Dominic Thiem, needed a victory over eighth-ranked Italian Berrettini to keep alive his hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

Federer took the first set on a tie-break and broke to love at the start of the second on his way to a 7-6 (2) 6-3 victory.

The Swiss will now face rival Novak Djokovic on Thursday as he bids to reach the last four for the 16th time in 17 appearances at the season-ending tournament.

Federer said: “It’s unusual to lose and come back and play again but I did it last year, I had that experience, and I’m happy with how I played today.

“Matteo was always going to be tough with his big serve. To get that break at the start of the second set was key, and I was pretty clean on my own serve.

“Hopefully I can keep that up and play a bit better in my next match.”

PA