Murray beaten by Federer in semi finals of ATP World Tour Finals

Andy Murray was knocked out the Semi Finals of the ATP World Tour Finals after suffering defeat to Roger Federer.

Murray started well and broke Federer in the very first game, however, Federer withstood the early barrage to see off Andy Murray in straight sets 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.

The Swiss will now try for a seventh season-ending title on Monday when he plays world number one Novak Djokovic in the final.

It had looked as though the British number one might be able to deliver his home crowd another glorious sporting moment to finish off an extraordinary 2012.

He began in aggressive fashion, while Federer was spraying his usually devastating forehand all round the O2 Arena, with an error on that side handing Murray an immediate break.

It only served to heighten a feverish atmosphere as Federer’s huge army of fans more than held their own among the 17,800 spectators.

Murray was racing away with the set and Federer did well to claw his way back from 0-30 at 3-1 down, and that escape appeared to shift the momentum.

It needed several heavy serves around the 135mph mark to keep Murray ahead in game six, but with his forehand now finding their targets Federer got back on level terms at 4-4.

The 31-year-old Swiss was now in charge, pushing for another break before recovering a 3-1 deficit in a tense tie-break.

Another superb forehand got him back to 3-3 and the pressure began to tell on Murray, who swiped his racquet in anger after an error handed Federer two set points.

Murray’s excellent start was long forgotten now and the Scot crept past Federer’s 14 unforced errors by giving up a 15th on set point.

After a 62-minute opening set, the second flashed by in 33 minutes as Federer got into full flow.

Murray helped him out by giving up a 40-0 lead in the third game, with four errors largely the result of his rampant opponent, and another break soon followed.

Always a great front-runner, the 17-time Grand Slam champion swarmed all over the net and kept Murray pinned back as he extended his incredible run in the season finale.

After the match and reflecting on a remarkable season Murray said: “It’s been an incredibly positive year. I would have love to have finished the year on a win, of course, but that didn’t happen. But for me it’s been the best year of my career by a mile.”