Cometh the hour,cometh the man

No tears,no drama,no contest.

No tears,no drama,no contest. The 26th episode of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadals compelling rivalry turned out to be one of their most one-sided. Federer took exactly 1 hour to win 6-3,6-0 and qualify for the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday in his most comprehensive victory over the Spaniard. Pinned behind the baseline,Nadal found Federers forehand unplayable. From 2-2 in the first set,Federer won 10 of the next 11 games. He finished with 28 winners to Nadals four.

It was a great match for me basically from start to finish, said Federer,who broke down in tears after losing to Nadal in the 2009 Australian Open final but had no issues Tuesday at the O2 Arena. I was able to do what I was hoping to do: dominate from the baseline,play close to the baseline,serve well,take his time away.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earlier kept alive his hopes of reaching the last four by beating Mardy Fish of the United States 7-6 4,6-1. Federers win means Fish cannot advance. The winner of Thursdays match between Tsonga and Nadal will claim the other semifinal place from Group B.

Its not the moment to say goodbye, Nadal said. Its the moment to keep fighting. Im still in the tournament. Nadal still leads the head-to-head series against Federer 17-9,but Tuesdays win extended the Swiss players dominance indoors,where he has won all four of their matches.

Tipsarevic withdraws

Tomas Berdych came within inches of a second consecutive defeat at the ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday but rode his luck to beat Serbia8217;s Janko Tipsarevic 2-6 6-3 7-6 at the O2 Arena. Tipsarevic,who replaced Andy Murray in the draw after the Briton withdrew with a groin injury,ended the day with problems of his own after apparently hurting his knee towards the end of the match and hobbling off court.

Paes-Bhupathi win

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi revived their campaign with a straight-set victory over Jurgen Melzer and Philip Petzschner in a group A round-robin match. The fourth seed Indian pair scored a 7-5 6-3 win over the seventh seed Austrian-German combo in one hour and 12 minutes to keep their semifinal chances alive in the elite season-ending event. Paes and Bhupathi now need to win their last league match against top seeded American pair of Mike and Bob Bryan. CAROLINE CHEESE