Looking back at Roger Federer's last 5 semifinals at the ATP Finals

#2 2017 Semifinals: Lost to David Goffin 6-2 3-6 4-6

Federer greets Goffin at the net after his semifinal loss to the Belgian

Enjoying a remarkable season after the first significant injury layoff of his career, Federer won two Grand Slam titles (Australian Open and Wimbledon) for the first time in 10 years and three Masters 1000 titles (Indian Wells, Miami, Shanghai), for a total of seven titles from eight finals as he arrived at the 2017 ATP Finals.

Federer beat tournament debutant Jack Sock, Alexander Zverev and Marin Cilic to go unbeaten at the ATP Finals group stage for a record-10th time in his career. In the semifinals, Federer was a runaway favourite against David Goffin, whom he had not lost to in six career meetings, and against whom he had dropped only three games in their last meeting in the Basel semifinals.

The Swiss maestro looked set to improve his dominance over Goffin to 7/7 when he breezed through the first set 6-2. But the script turned as Goffin broke early in the second and held on to restore parity at one set apiece.

Riding on his momentum, Goffin broke in the third game of the third and never looked back. He completed his first victory over Federer in seven attempts, and in the process reached his first big final (Grand Slam, ATP Finals, Masters 1000) - where he went on to lose to Grigor Dimitrov.

#3 2015 Semifinals: Beat Stan Wawrinka 7-5 6-3

Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka meet at the net

In his 14th appearance at the ATP Finals, Federer beat Tomas Berdych in his first round-robin match before ending three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic's 15-match win streak at the tournament in his next match. The Swiss maestro saw off Kei Nishikori in three sets to book a semifinal with his compatriot Stan Wawrinka, in a repeat of the pair's epic last-four clash from a year ago.

Federer recovered from an early break down to take the opener 7-5. He rode his momentum to an early break in the second which he never relinquished, as he went on to beat his good friend at the last-four stage of the ATP Finals for the second time in as many years.

In the process, Federer reached a record-extending 10th final at the ATP Finals, where he lost to Djokovic.