LONDON, (Reuters) – Woe betide any ticket holder who got stuck in the queue for an ice cream at the O2 Arena yesterday — the action might have been all over by the time they returned to their pricey seat.
Stanislas Wawrinka pummelled Tomas Berdych 6-1 6-1 in 58 minutes before the evening’s main course turned into fast food as world number one Novak Djokovic needed two minutes less to send newcomer Marin Cilic packing by the same scoreline. Defending champion Djokovic can clinch the year-end number one ranking if he wins his next two Group A matches and few would bet against the Serb doing that.
As for Czech Berdych and Croat Cilic, they have a day to lick their wounds before meeting tomorrow in a match each must win to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive. Yesterday’s singles were the most one-sided contests since the Tour Finals arrived in London in 2009, eclipsing Roger Federer’s victory over Rafael Nadal in 2011 for the loss of three games.
In 2009 eight of the 12 round-robin matches went to three sets. None of the four singles matches so far have gone the distance and organisers and fans alike will be hoping for a rise in the excitement levels in the days to come.
