Paes, Stepanek book semifinal berth at London

Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek booked their place in the semi-finals of the ATP Tour Finals after defeating Spanish duo Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday.

Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek booked their place in the semi-finals of the ATP Tour Finals after defeating Spanish duo Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday.

Paes and Stepanek, seeded third, are the first doubles pair to qualify from Group A after winning both their matches without dropping a set at London's O2 Arena.

They were pushed hard by the sixth seeds in a match lasting one hour and 31 minutes, twice having to come from a break down in the second set before eventually sprinting to the finish line with a barrage of winners. They will now play a dead rubber against top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. This is Paes' 14th appearance at the season-ending championship.

Roger downs Ferrer
Roger Federer clinched a place in the semis of the ATP Tour Finals as the defending champion ground out a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) win over Spain's David Ferrer. Federer required a straight sets win over the fourth seed to seal his spot in the last four with one Group B match to spare and he reached that goal despite a scrappy performance that included 39 unforced errors.