LONDON — Rafael Nadal emulated Roger Federer by winning a third successive round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals on Friday, edging fellow Spaniard David Ferrer at the O2 Arena.
With Nadal already in the semi-finals from the Ilie Nastase Group and Ferrer going home after two defeats, it could have been a non-event but the packed arena was treated to the longest match of the group stage with Nadal winning 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4 after two hours 37 minutes.
Nadal, twice a runner-up at the Tour Finals, will face Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic in Saturday's last four.