Nitto ATP Finals: Roger Federer's top-5 near misses at the year-end tournament

Roger Federer has an impressive resume at the ATP Finals. Federer holds the records for most appearances (17), most matches (76), most wins (59), most semifinals (16), most finals (10), and most titles (6) of any player to have played at the season-ending tournament.

Federer is also the oldest player ever to have triumphed at the ATP Finals, when he lifted his sixth title at the season-ending tournament with a victory over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 2011 final.

However, the Swiss maestro has had his fair share of disappointments at the ATP Finals over the years. Let us have a look at five of his biggest near misses at the season-ending tournament.

---

#5 2019 Semi-final- Lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 4-6

Tsitsipas greets Federer at the net following his semifinal victory over the 20-time Grand Slam winner

Making his record-extending 17th appearance at the ATP Finals, Federer dropped his opening round-robin match for the second year in a row when he lost in straight sets to Dominic Thiem. The Swiss maestro improved as the tournament went on, beating tournament debutant Matteo Berrettini in straight sets to face a 'winner-takes-all' scenario in what was virtually a quarter-final in his third round-robin match against Novak Djokovic.

Winless in his last five matches to the Serb, Federer burst out of the blocks breaking serve thrice in the match to close out a 6-4 6-3 win and reach a record-extending 16th semi-final at the season-ending tournament.

In his last four clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Federer squandered a break point in the opening game of the match and two missed overheads in the following game meant that the young Greek surged to a 3-0 lead. Tsitsipas recovered from 0-40 down at 2-4 to take the opening set 6-3.

Federer lost serve in the third game of the second set but broke back for 2-2. However, another loose service game from the Swiss maestro saw him lose serve as Tsitsipas went on to close out a 6-3 6-4 win on a night Federer went 1/12 on break points and struggled to land enough first serves and win points on his second delivery. With the loss, Federer ended a third straight season at the semi-final stage of the ATP Finals.

#4 2009 Semi-final- Lost to Nikolay Davydenko 2-6 6-4 5-7

Federer lost to Davydenko for the 1st time in 12 matches, in the semi-finals of the 2009 ATP Finals

Having made the finals of all the four Grand Slam tournaments on the calendar, winning at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Federer arrived at the first edition of the ATP Finals (then called the ATP World Tour Finals) in London in 2009.

Federer dropped a set in his first two round-robin matches against Fernando Verdasco and Andy Murray before a three-set defeat to Juan Martin Del Potro in his third match. Federer and Del Potro edged out Murray to qualify for the semi-finals, edging a three-way tie between the trio on a higher % of games won.

In the semi-finals, Federer faced Russian Nikolay Davydenko, a player he had beaten in each of the pair's 12 previous clashes. Federer made the brighter start, winning the first seven points of the match but stood to rue two missed break point opportunities as Davydenko broke twice to take the first set 6-2. The Swiss maestro survived a deuce game at 4-4 in the second before breaking Davydenko and force a third set.

Federer moved to within two points of victory when he led 5-4 30-0 on the Russian's serve only for Davydenko to hold serve, break Federer in the next game and serve out his first win in 13 attempts against the then 15-time Grand Slam champion. Davydenko went on to beat Juan Martin Del Potro in the final to become the first Russian winner at the ATP Finals.

---

#3 2017 Semi-final- Lost to David Goffin 6-2 3-6 4-6

Goffin beats Federer in the semi-finals of the 2017 ATP Finals

Following a dream comeback season which saw Federer win two Grand Slam titles in a year for the first time since 2009, three Masters 1000 titles, and a tour-leading seven titles in the season, the Swiss maestro beat Jack Sock, Alexander Zverev, and Marin Cilic to reach his 14th semi-final at the ATP Finals.

In a last four field also featuring David Goffin and tournament debutants Jack Sock and Grigor Dimitrov, Federer was the runaway favourite for a record-extending seventth title as he never lost in 16 cumulative matches (6-0 each against Goffin and Dimitrov, 4-0 against Sock) against the trio.

Unbeaten in six previous matches against Goffin, which included a Basel semifinal win for the loss of just three games, Federer looked set to extend his perfect record against the diminutive Belgian to seven matches when he took the first set for the loss of just two games. Goffin broke Federer at the start of the second set and rode the lone break advantage to restore parity.

A lone break of serve in the third game of the third set sufficed as Goffin celebrated one of the biggest wins of his career as Federer failed to cap a stunning season with a win at the season-ending tournament.

#2 2012 Final- Lost to Novak Djokovic 6-7(5) 5-7

Djokovic dethroned the two-time defending champion Federer in the 2012 final in London.

In a season which saw Federer end a two-and-a half year wait for a Grand Slam title by winning a record-tying seventh title at Wimbledon, the Swiss maestro made his 11th consecutive appearance at the ATP Finals.

Having made a group-stage exit in 2008 and endured a semi-final loss in 2009, Federer beat Janko Tipsarevic and David Ferrer in straight sets before losing to Juan Martin Del Potro in three sets in his final round-robin match.

In the semi-finals, Federer beat Andy Murray in straight sets to reach his seventh final at the ATP Finals where he faced 2008 winner, Novak Djokovic. Federer led by a break in the first set only for Djokovic to fight back and win the opener in a tiebreak. Federer led by a break in the second set as well and arrived at 5-4 40-15 on serve only to blink at the most inopportune moment as Djokovic reeled off three games in a row to secure his second triumph at the ATP Finals.

On another day Federer would have run out a straight-set victor and celebrated a record-extending seventh title at the season-ending tournament but on the day it was not to be as Federer's brilliance amidst spurts of fallibility were to be brutally punished by the relentless Djokovic.

---

#1 2005 Final- Lost to David Nalbandian 7-6 7-6 1-6 2-6 6-7(4)

Nalbandian beat Federer in the final of the 2005 ATP Finals.

The two-time defending champion arrived at the 2005 ATP Finals (then called the Tennis Masters Cup) having lost only four times all season.

Federer dropped a set in each of his three group-stage matches against David Nalbandian, Ivan Ljubicic, and Guillermo Coria respectively, before reaching his fourth semi-final at the ATP Finals in as many appearances.

In one of his most dominating wins in his illustrious career, Federer double-bagelled a hapless Gaston Gaudio to book a final re-match with Nalbandian. On a 35 match win-streak in all competitions (14 at the ATP Finals) and a record-24 match win streak in tournament finals, Federer saved multiple set points in the second set tiebreak to seemingly take an insurmountable two-set lead.

But Nalbandian reeled off 16 of the next 19 games to take a 4-0 lead in the fifth set, only for Federer to re-coup the double break. Another break at 5-5 offered Federer the opportunity to serve for the match. The Swiss maestro stood to rue the opportunity as Nalbandian broke back to force a deciding set tiebreak where he let slip a mini-break advantage before winning the biggest title of his career.

It marked Federer's first loss at a tournament final since a defeat to Jiri Novak in the 2003 Gstaad final, as the Swiss star fell a win short of matching John McEnroe's Open Era best win-loss season mark of 82-3 (1984).