London • Roger Federer blew away Andy Murray 6-0, 6-1 to finish the ATP Finals round-robin unbeaten and hand Murray his worst defeat in seven years in front of his home crowd on Thursday.
Federer, the most successful player at the year-end championship with six titles, equaled Ivan Lendl's record of 12 semifinal appearances in winning his group ahead of Japanese debutant Kei Nishikori.
It was a ruthless win for Federer and humiliation for Murray, who last won only one game in 2007 at Miami, against Novak Djokovic.
Before playing Murray, Federer had already secured a semis berth after Nishikori defeated David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the afternoon.
That left Murray needing to defeat the 17-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets to make it to the last four at the O2 Arena and thwart the Japanese newcomer.
But Federer, yet to drop a set, made a perfect start, losing only eight points in a 23-minute first set.
Nishikori, the U.S. Open runner-up, is one of the three debutants at the tournament. He was rapt to advance at Ferrer's expense.
The fourth-seeded Nishikori won four consecutive games to start the third and saved five break points in the sixth game before winning it with a drop shot.
Ferrer missed out on qualifying for the ATP Finals after his loss to Nishikori in the Paris Masters quarterfinals last month.
Ferrer stepped in to ATP play for injured Milos Raonic at the last minute.
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