<p>Six-times champion Roger Federer survived a late-night Swiss semi-final thriller against Stanislas Wawrinka on Saturday to set up an ATP World Tour Finals showdown against Novak Djokovic.<br /><br /></p>.<p>After a week of one-sided group stage action at London's O2 Arena, the season-ender burst to life with world number one Djokovic battling past Japan's Kei Nishikori after a mid-match meltdown before Federer saved four match points in a near three-hour duel with compatriot Wawrinka.<br /><br />Federer eventually prevailed 4-6 7-5 7-6(6) against the man he will join forces with when Switzerland take on France in next week's Davis Cup final.<br /><br />Djokovic, bidding for a third consecutive season-ending title having already secured the number one ranking, beat Asian trailblazer Nishikori 6-1 3-6 6-0 after losing his cool with another capacity crowd at the O2 Arena.<br /><br />The real drama was saved to last, however.<br /><br />Federer, sublime in a 6-0 6-1 thrashing of home favourite Andy Murray in his final group match on Thursday, was the big favourite to claim a 15th victory in 17 career clashes with Wawrinka, but he was in for a rollercoaster ride.<br /><br />Australian Open champ Wawrinka seemed determined to tear up the script, which had Federer and Djokovic lined up to contest the final match of the ATP season on Sunday.<br /><br />He outplayed 17-times grand slam champion Federer in the opening set and went toe-to-toe in the second before cracking in the 12th game when a missed smash gave Federer three set points.<br /><br />One was enough.<br /><br />Federer was riled by a line call when he dropped serve in the first game of the decider and the 33-year-old's mood darkened further when, serving at 4-3, Wawrinka saved one of two break points with a fluky volley off the frame.<br /><br />But Wawrinka will have nightmares about 10th game.<br /><br />Match point arrived but he watched a Federer forehand whistle past him. Another came, and this time Wawrinka netted a feeble volley. Wawrinka's nerve failed him again on a third match point when he could only spoon a volley, which Federer fizzed back past him before going on to win the game.<br /><br />A tiebreak was needed to settle it and Wawrinka eeked out another match point, but this time his service return went long.<br /><br />With the 17,500 fans, many in Swiss red and wearing Federer masks, making a deafening din, Federer had the coolest head in the cavernous arena, taking the next two points, and the match, with sumptuous drop volleys.<br /><br />"I think I got lucky tonight. Stan played better from the baseline and that usually does the job on this court," a relieved Federer said. "But I kept fighting. It's tough but I'm thrilled to be in another final in London."<br /><br />'OVER THE LINE'<br /><br />He will now do battle with Djokovic for a 37th time, though he has precious little recovery time.<br /><br />That said, Djokovic was complaining of "mental exhaustion" after ending Nishikori's impressive debut at the Tour Finals.<br /><br />The Serb was rattled by a mid-match onslaught from the Japanese, who came back from a poor start to dominate the second set, only for his challenge to fizzle out in the decider.<br /><br />After dropping only nine games in group stage wins against Marin Cilic, Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych, it looked like plain sailing again for the Serb but a double-fault, loudly cheered by the crowd who wanted a Nishikori fightback, threw Djokovic off track early in the second set.<br /><br />He gestured sarcastically to the fans and admitted his tetchy loss of focus could have cost him dear.<br /><br />"I mean, look, at the end of the day I cannot blame the crowd," Djokovic told reporters.<br /><br />"The crowd has a right to do what they want, to cheer for whoever they want. Some individuals were going over the line but I lost concentration.<br /><br />"I lost the break because of that. I allowed myself to be in the situation to lose the set, maybe even lose the match."</p>
<p>Six-times champion Roger Federer survived a late-night Swiss semi-final thriller against Stanislas Wawrinka on Saturday to set up an ATP World Tour Finals showdown against Novak Djokovic.<br /><br /></p>.<p>After a week of one-sided group stage action at London's O2 Arena, the season-ender burst to life with world number one Djokovic battling past Japan's Kei Nishikori after a mid-match meltdown before Federer saved four match points in a near three-hour duel with compatriot Wawrinka.<br /><br />Federer eventually prevailed 4-6 7-5 7-6(6) against the man he will join forces with when Switzerland take on France in next week's Davis Cup final.<br /><br />Djokovic, bidding for a third consecutive season-ending title having already secured the number one ranking, beat Asian trailblazer Nishikori 6-1 3-6 6-0 after losing his cool with another capacity crowd at the O2 Arena.<br /><br />The real drama was saved to last, however.<br /><br />Federer, sublime in a 6-0 6-1 thrashing of home favourite Andy Murray in his final group match on Thursday, was the big favourite to claim a 15th victory in 17 career clashes with Wawrinka, but he was in for a rollercoaster ride.<br /><br />Australian Open champ Wawrinka seemed determined to tear up the script, which had Federer and Djokovic lined up to contest the final match of the ATP season on Sunday.<br /><br />He outplayed 17-times grand slam champion Federer in the opening set and went toe-to-toe in the second before cracking in the 12th game when a missed smash gave Federer three set points.<br /><br />One was enough.<br /><br />Federer was riled by a line call when he dropped serve in the first game of the decider and the 33-year-old's mood darkened further when, serving at 4-3, Wawrinka saved one of two break points with a fluky volley off the frame.<br /><br />But Wawrinka will have nightmares about 10th game.<br /><br />Match point arrived but he watched a Federer forehand whistle past him. Another came, and this time Wawrinka netted a feeble volley. Wawrinka's nerve failed him again on a third match point when he could only spoon a volley, which Federer fizzed back past him before going on to win the game.<br /><br />A tiebreak was needed to settle it and Wawrinka eeked out another match point, but this time his service return went long.<br /><br />With the 17,500 fans, many in Swiss red and wearing Federer masks, making a deafening din, Federer had the coolest head in the cavernous arena, taking the next two points, and the match, with sumptuous drop volleys.<br /><br />"I think I got lucky tonight. Stan played better from the baseline and that usually does the job on this court," a relieved Federer said. "But I kept fighting. It's tough but I'm thrilled to be in another final in London."<br /><br />'OVER THE LINE'<br /><br />He will now do battle with Djokovic for a 37th time, though he has precious little recovery time.<br /><br />That said, Djokovic was complaining of "mental exhaustion" after ending Nishikori's impressive debut at the Tour Finals.<br /><br />The Serb was rattled by a mid-match onslaught from the Japanese, who came back from a poor start to dominate the second set, only for his challenge to fizzle out in the decider.<br /><br />After dropping only nine games in group stage wins against Marin Cilic, Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych, it looked like plain sailing again for the Serb but a double-fault, loudly cheered by the crowd who wanted a Nishikori fightback, threw Djokovic off track early in the second set.<br /><br />He gestured sarcastically to the fans and admitted his tetchy loss of focus could have cost him dear.<br /><br />"I mean, look, at the end of the day I cannot blame the crowd," Djokovic told reporters.<br /><br />"The crowd has a right to do what they want, to cheer for whoever they want. Some individuals were going over the line but I lost concentration.<br /><br />"I lost the break because of that. I allowed myself to be in the situation to lose the set, maybe even lose the match."</p>