Roger Federer socks Stan Wawrinka

London: Roger Federer will face Novak Djokovic in the World Tour Final after defeating Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday. Earlier, Serbian World No.1 Djokovic beat Spain’s resurgent Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3 in his semifinal to secure his place in Sunday’s title match.

Third seed Federer beat Djokovic in straight sets in the group stage. “A great match, I really enjoyed it,” Federer said after his win on the hard court of London’s O2 Arena.

“It will be a perfect ending only if I win. Novak should be knocked out by now! No, I am joking. He played a great match against Rafa earlier today and I’m sure it will be a fantastic meeting.” The clash was a repeat of last year’s semifinal, which ended in bad blood between the two Switzerland teammates.

In the 2014 semis, they embarked on one of the most draining matches of the season — nearly three hours of cut-throat tennis that Federer won 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) after saving four match points along the way.

On top of that, there was a bust-up — Wawrinka taking umbrage at what he saw as inappropriate words from Federer’s wife Mirka from the players’ box at a key point in the third set.

But the pair appeared to patch up their differences, teaming up to win a first Davis Cup for Switzerland. Federer went into the Wawrinka match with a 17-3 lead in career clashes. He won two of their three matches this year, including their last encounter in the US Open semis where Federer lost to Djokovic.