LONDON (AP) — Roger Federer weathered a barrage of big hitting by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France to begin his title defense with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win Sunday in the opening match of the ATP World Tour Finals.
Federer came into the tournament on a 12-match winning streak following titles in Basel and Paris, where he beat Tsonga in straight sets in the final a week ago.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion looked set for another easy win when he took the first set in 21 minutes, but Tsonga broke early in the second set before taking the match into a decider.
A close third set ended when the pressure seemed to get to Tsonga. Trailing 5-4, he was broken at 15.
Rafael Nadal was up against Mardy Fish in the second match in Group B later Sunday.
