TENNIS in DEPTH.

The 30-year-old Swiss third seed became only the second player after Andre Agassi to win titles at Roland Garros and Bercy – the two men’s Paris tournaments – thanks to a suberb display over 85 breathtaking minutes. Federer raced to a 4-0 lead and claimed the opening set in 30 minutes against the sixth seed thanks to his sharp first serve and devastating forehand. The Frenchman at least made a contest of the second set, threatening to break on two occasions, but it eventually went to a tiebreak which Federer won 7-3 after racing into a 4-0 lead.

It was Federer’s third ATP title of the year after tournament wins in Doha and his home town of Basel last week. It was also his 18th Masters title, second only to Rafael Nadal who has one more to his name. Tsonga had two break points in the first game but Federer held him off with two first-serve winners. The Swiss moved 4-0 up after a Tsonga return went wide and a double fault earned him a double break, as a frustrated Tsonga struggled for ideas in front of vociferous support from the majority of a 14,500 crowd. Tsonga had a flicker of a chance in the second set, earning a break point in the fourth game with a sizzling crosscourt passing shot, but blew his opportunity by sending a forehand wide. Tsonga faced a break point in the 10th game but staved it off at the net and the contest went into a tiebreak which Federer won comfortably.

Federer, who had been facing the prospect of failing to win either a grand slam or a Masters title in a season for the first time since 2001, said: “I’m very happy with my performance today. I’m amazed by how well I played. ”I don’t think Jo played a bad match. It’s good to complete the tournament so solidly.” Tsonga admitted: “I’m a bit disappointed that I have not been able to play better. He was better today. He was just too quick.”

Federer will head to the ATP Tour Finals in London next week on a 12-match winning streak, after claiming his 69th career title from 99 finals.

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Andy Murray’s 17-match winning run came to an end in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters on Friday, as Tomas Berdych came from behind to secure a thrilling win over the world number three. With Murray’s form so imperious going into the match – he had won his last three tournaments and overtaken Roger Federer in the rankings – it was expected he would routinely secure a last-four berth when he won the first set. But Berdych, who now has a 3-1 record over the Scot, dug deep and raised his game to a new level in the next two thrilling sets, often forcing Murray to lose his temper as he won 4-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-4.

Murray engaged in a heated debate with the umpire midway through the final set, his anger no doubt increased by the amount of chances he passed up during the three-hour 12-minute tussle. Speaking after the match, Murray was already looking ahead to the season-ending World Tour Finals in London later this month where the duo could meet again.

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Djokovic saw off fellow Serbian Viktor Troicki 4-6 6-3 6-1 on Thursday and was due to face home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday evening. But the shoulder joint is still troubling him, forcing him to withdraw. He wrote on his official Twitter account: “Dear fans and friends, sadly I have to inform you that I have withdrawn from the tournament. ”I have pushed myself to the limit by playing, and after the match yesterday my shoulder got worse. ”For this reason, I have to put my health first and withdraw even though my urges as a professional player are making me want to play until the last drop of energy. ”I am very sorry for all of you who bought tickets and wanted to come to watch me play. ”My season has been long and tiring, I played all of my matches at my highest level, and now my body is aching for recovery. Hoping for your understanding and support.”

After missing the Masters event in Shanghai with the shoulder problem, the 24-year-old suffered a recurrence in his semi-final defeat to world number 35 Kei Nishikori in Basle last week. He opted to play in Paris, though, and pocketed a £996,000 bonus for appearing in his eighth Masters event of the year – an ATP incentive designed to entice the top players to appear.

Djokovic will now focus on his fitness ahead of the ATP World Tour Finals which take place in London, starting on November 20. The Serbian has had a remarkable year, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open crowns as well as five Masters events.

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All three players earned their spots for the tournament in London after Berdych beat Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 7-5, 6-4 Thursday in the third round of the Paris Masters. Tipsarevic needed to win the title in Paris to qualify for the season-ending event, which starts on Nov. 20.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and David Ferrer have already qualified for the tournament for the top eight players in the world.

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The British number one remains on course for a fourth successive title after easing to a 6-2 6-2 victory in the French capital. Murray, champion in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai, is now enjoying a career-best 18-match unbeaten run. Murray broke Roddick’s once unrivalled serve twice in both sets, hitting 27 winners along the way to book a last-eight showdown with either Janko Tipsarevic or Tomas Berdych. The 24-year-old set the tone when he broke Roddick’s serve in the first game before holding his own serve. He continued to apply pressure on the American’s serve and produced a stunning backhand to earn three break points in game seven, and duly converted one to go 5-2 up.

Murray, who also crushed the American for the loss of just four games at Queen’s Club in the summer, wrapped up the first set in style with another crisp winner as Roddick seemed to have few answers to the one-way traffic. Things went from bad to worse for A-Rod when Murray immediately broke his serve in the second set before holding serve in the second game. Roddick vented his frustration to umpire Mohamed Lahyani by destroying his racket, earning a code violation for racket abuse as a result, as Murray won the next two games to take a 4-0 lead in the second set. The 29-year-old from Texas then dug in and held serve to get himself on the scoreboard, but Murray hit back immediately with a hold to love to put himself on the brink of victory. Roddick finally tested Murray en route to claiming his fourth game but it was too little, too late as Murray unleashed his sixth and seventh aces of the day to seal an emphatic straight-sets triumph.

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Novak Djokovic looks set to play in the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris this week, protecting nearly £1million in bonus money in the process. Djokovic stood to lose £996,000 if he withdrew from the tournament with the recurrence of a shoulder injury sustained in Basel last weekend. The 24-year-old, who has been ranked No 1 since July, practised last night and reported no ill-effects from the session. Djokovic is scheduled to face Ivan Dodig of Croatia in the third match on Centre Court in the season’s ninth and final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

He has enjoyed a magnificent year after winning all but one of the grand slams – the French Open – and five Masters events. However, he stood to miss out on the £1.24million bonus paid to elite players who participate in all eight mandatory Masters events. He had already missed Shanghai because of injury, costing him £249,000, and will lose everything he fails to compete in Paris.

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With three spots still up for grabs in the chase to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the fate of several players’ year-end championships hopes will come down to their performances this week. No. 6 Tomas Berdych, No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and No. 8 Mardy Fish all control their own destiny – reach the final and they’re guaranteed a berth to London. Nicolas Almagro (9th) and Janko Tipsarevic (11th) each need to make the final to have a shot at qualifying. Frenchmen Gilles Simon (12th) and Gael Monfils (14th) have to win the title to keep their hopes alive.

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The Swiss, currently ranked fourth in the world, outclassed Japanese youngster Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-3 to win the event for the fifth time in six years. Nishikori had beaten Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals but was unable to repeat the heroics against Federer, who remains a force in the game at 30. He advertised his full repertoire of strokes in winning his 68th career title, in what was his first final appearance since losing to Rafael Nadal in the French Open. The third seed dropped just one point on serve in a demoralising opening set for the wildcard, who was unable to gain a foothold in the match, with Federer breaking crucially in the sixth game of a more competitive second set.

“He was too good for me today,” said the 21-year-old, who started the week ranked 32nd. “I tried to do my best but he wouldn’t let me.”

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