Roger Federer reveals cancelled practice sessions were key to him keeping ATP Finals hopes alive

Roger Federer’s decision to cancel his practice court at Queen’s following defeat to Kei Nishikori had many questioning whether his ATP Finals were over. Instead he believes it may be what keeps him in the competition.

Federer had been using the indoor courts in west London prior to his insipid defeat to Nishikori and when news emerged on Monday that he would not be making use of the Queen’s facilities it was inevitable that speculation over the 37-year-old’s participation in the competition would soon follow.

However the chance to clear his head did wonders for Federer, who was much improved, albeit still with signs of rust, in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Dominic Thiem that keeps him in the hunt for the semi-finals.

“I will do the same again tomorrow because it worked,” Federer said of his rejigged practice schedule. “[What was] important was not about my forehand or my backhand or my serve or anything. I guess it was my head. For that sometimes you need a break.

“I've been playing a lot of tennis the last two months. I saw the Nishikori match on the way back to the hotel. A good, long trip. That was positive.

We came to the conclusions, or the coaches thought, ‘take it easy, enjoy the day with your family, and come out happy on I don't even know what day of the week it is today.’ Again, when you play Thiem, that's what we care about, the head, not the shots.

“The shots are there. I felt that way today. So I'm very happy that that was the right decision and I was able to show a reaction from my first-round match.”

Federer is still not guaranteed a passage into the last four even if he beats group leader Kevin Anderson on Thursday but he appeared sanguine over a possible round-robin exit with two wins to his name.

The match against Anderson will offer a chance at revenge for the 37-year-old, whose bid for a ninth Wimbledon title this summer was ended by the big-serving South African in a titanic quarter-final. However Federer is not concerned with righting past wrongs.

“I don't know if I'll look at [the match] or if I'll look at other hard court matches we've played against each other to prepare. Because I played great, you know, for three sets against him, and then after that it got tough. He maybe started to serve better. I blinked and he took advantage of it, got back into the game.

“I don't think I'll go into the match thinking, like, too much of it. I think I have enough things to focus on from my own side, from my own game, to make sure I play a good match against him here in the next match.

“I'm really excited to get a chance to play him again, to be honest. I've played well against him in the past. I hope I can reproduce something like that.”