LONDON: Roger Federer came alive once again after losing the first set, rallying to beat Andy Murray 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday at the ATP World Tour Finals 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. Federer, who has two wins from two matches in Group A and is favoured to reach the semi-finals at the season-ending tournament, still has to play Juan Martin del Potro in the round-robin stage.

Del Potro, who beat Federer in the US Open final, held on to beat Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1), giving him a good chance to reach the semi-finals.

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.