LONDON: Andy Murray joined Roger Federer in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals Thursday, recovering from a shaky start to beat David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2 in their last round-robin match. Murray lost his first service game to go down 2-0, but played nearly perfect tennis in winning the next seven games to take control of the match. Murray only needed to win a set to secure a spot in the semifinals and Ferrer seemed unable to muster much energy in the second, knowing he had been eliminated. Murray broke twice more for a 5-2 lead and sealed the win with an easy forehand winner at the net on his first match point. Earlier, Federer continued his dominance over Robin Soderling, beating the Swede 7-6 (5), 6-3 to earn top spot in Group B of the season-ending tournament. Federer improved to 3-0 in the round-robin phase of the tournament to secure first place in Group B. Soderling fell to 1-2. Federer improved his career record against Soderling to 15-1, with his only loss to the Swede coming in this year's French Open quarterfinals. Federer broke for a 5-3 lead in the second set, hitting a backhand passing shot that Soderling could only return into the net. The second-ranked Swiss then set up match point with a drop shot and converted it when Soderling hit his return into the net. Federer has yet to lose a set in the tournament and took advantage of Soderling's 25 unforced errors on the indoor hard court at the O2 Arena. The two traded breaks once in the first set before Federer took control of the tiebreaker by earning a mini-break with a forehand winner after a long rally, and followed it up with two straight aces for a 5-2 lead. He converted his second set point with a lunging one-handed backhand that sailed past Soderling and into the far corner of the court. Soderling had two break points in the first game of the second set, but wasted the first when he shanked a forehand. He thought he had converted the second with a forehand pass down the line, but Federer challenged the line judge's call that the ball was in, and the video replay showed that it landed just wide. He went on to hold with an ace on his first game point. Soderling then saved two break points to hold for 2-2 after the longest game of the match, which featured five deuces. Earlier, top-ranked Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States reached the semifinals of the doubles competition by beating Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India 6-3, 6-4. On Wednesday Rafael Nadal beat a visually impaired Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-2. Djokovic called for a time out early in the eighth game because of a problem with his contact lenses.
