<p>The Swiss, competing at the season-ender for the 10th consecutive year, raced through the first set in 21 minutes but world number six Tsonga made sure the capacity crowd got value for money with a stirring fightback. <br /><br />Federer missed two routine forehands in the third game of the second set to gift Tsonga a break of serve and the French powerhouse suddenly came to life, breaking the Federer serve again on the way to levelling the match. <br /><br />The decider went with serve until the final game when Tsonga wavered badly, missing a routine volley, then serving a double fault to give Federer sight of victory. <br /><br />A crunching forehand brought up three match points for the 16-times Grand Slam champion and although Tsonga saved one with a first serve winner he could only watch as Federer rolled a backhand winner down the line on his second attempt. <br /><br />Federer, whose world ranking has slipped to four after a rare season without a grand slam silverware, will set a new record if he retains the title in London. <br /><br />The 30-year-old is currently level on five with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras. <br /><br />Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-haq Quershi began their campaign with a <br />defeat against Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi, albeit after a good fight in a Group ‘B’ match.<br /><br />Fifth seed Indo-Pak pair lost 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 9-11 to third seed Canadian-Belarus combo in one hour and 41 minutes.<br /><br />Bopanna and Qureshi will now have to win the remaining two matches in their group to be in contention for a spot in the semifinals. Bopanna and Qureshi even had a set point in the 10th game of the first set but squandered the opportunity. <br /><br />It was a good comeback as they were down 2-4 at one stage but won three games on the trot to take a mini 5-4 lead.<br /><br />Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will compete in Group ‘A’. </p>
<p>The Swiss, competing at the season-ender for the 10th consecutive year, raced through the first set in 21 minutes but world number six Tsonga made sure the capacity crowd got value for money with a stirring fightback. <br /><br />Federer missed two routine forehands in the third game of the second set to gift Tsonga a break of serve and the French powerhouse suddenly came to life, breaking the Federer serve again on the way to levelling the match. <br /><br />The decider went with serve until the final game when Tsonga wavered badly, missing a routine volley, then serving a double fault to give Federer sight of victory. <br /><br />A crunching forehand brought up three match points for the 16-times Grand Slam champion and although Tsonga saved one with a first serve winner he could only watch as Federer rolled a backhand winner down the line on his second attempt. <br /><br />Federer, whose world ranking has slipped to four after a rare season without a grand slam silverware, will set a new record if he retains the title in London. <br /><br />The 30-year-old is currently level on five with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras. <br /><br />Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-haq Quershi began their campaign with a <br />defeat against Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi, albeit after a good fight in a Group ‘B’ match.<br /><br />Fifth seed Indo-Pak pair lost 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 9-11 to third seed Canadian-Belarus combo in one hour and 41 minutes.<br /><br />Bopanna and Qureshi will now have to win the remaining two matches in their group to be in contention for a spot in the semifinals. Bopanna and Qureshi even had a set point in the 10th game of the first set but squandered the opportunity. <br /><br />It was a good comeback as they were down 2-4 at one stage but won three games on the trot to take a mini 5-4 lead.<br /><br />Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will compete in Group ‘A’. </p>