Roger Federer was desperate for payback against Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals, according to Daniela Hantuchova.
The Swiss star beat Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday to knock the Serbian out of the group stages at the O2 Arena.
It was the first time the pair had met since that epic five-set Wimbledon final this summer, in which Djokovic saved two match points to emerge victorious.
However, Federer’s latest win ended his rival’s season early and also ruined his hopes of finishing the year as world No 1, essentially handing Rafael Nadal the honour.
“I think this way a big payback and Roger wanted to show to everyone who was supposed to win that Wimbledon final,” Hantuchova told Amazon Prime.
“I think there was a lot of frustration going into that match that’s why he was able to bring the best out of him.”
Fellow pundit Greg Rusedski believes Federer had extra incentive to beat Djokovic because of personal issues.
“They don’t get on great so Federer would have loved to stop his run at the year-end No 1,” he added.
“We can never discount these great champions and what they can produce.
“Everyone was saying it was going to be one sided and Djokovic was going to win.
“But Federer showed us why he is such a great champion and you don’t normally see that celebration from Federer.
“On top of that Rafa was delighted because he had clinched the year-end world No 1 title.
But the pressure reverts onto Federer now because he is expected to win the title.”
Nadal failed to reach the semi-finals and Hantuchova reckons it is because of the playing surface.
“Obviously being indoors it favours Roger over Rafa big time,” she said. But to be able to have this kind of energy at the end of the season at his age, it shows his scheduling has been extremely good.
“He takes care of his breaks, his body and whenever he comes he he peaks at the right time. That win over Novak from the first point to the last one he was so focused.
“We saw him at the beginning of the tournament really struggling but no problem against Novak.”