Roger Federer again bounced back after losing the first set, rallying to beat Andy Murray 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 Tuesday at the ATP World Tour Finals in London and ensuring he will have the year-end No. 1 ranking for the fifth time.
Federer dominated Murray in the final two sets, finally controlling play from his serve and also getting his forehand on target. Murray, meanwhile, started to struggle to win any points.
Earlier Tuesday, Juan Martin Del Potro held on to beat Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1), giving him a good chance to reach the semifinals at the O2 Arena.
Because of Federer's win, he cannot be overtaken by second-ranked Rafael Nadal, who lost to Robin Soderling on Monday in his first Group B match.
Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors are the only other players to finish the year as the top-ranked player at least five times since the rankings started in 1973. Sampras, whose record of 14 Grand Slam titles Federer broke this year at Wimbledon, has the most with six.
Soccer referee 'hounded'
The Swedish referee who failed to spot Thierry Henry's hand ball in the World Cup playoff between France and Ireland says he considered quitting because of the furor.
Martin Hansson has spent eight years as an international referee. He said in Tuesday's edition of the Swedish newspaper Sydostran that even his parents were hounded by photographers.
"I thought: Is the job really worth all this degradation that I have to hear?" he said.
Last week, Henry's hand ball set up the tying goal for teammate William Gallas in the playoff that helped give France a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 win on total goals. France advanced to next year's tournament in South Africa at the expense of the Irish. Although the hand ball appeared clear, it was not spotted by the referee or linesmen and the goal stood.
Chicago fires coach: Denis Hamlett will not return to the Chicago Fire next year after leading them to the Eastern Conference finals in each of his two seasons as head coach.
Fire technical director Frank Klopas says the organization "has decided to take the team in a new direction in 2010."
