Tennis news - Roger Federer: I'm not allowed to lose any more ATP Finals matches

The 38-year-old was bettered 7-5, 7-5 by the Austrian, meaning that he is likely to have to beat Novak Djokovic if he is to win his seventh title at the tournament.

However, Federer believes that he can draw on his experience to cope with the added pressure.

"It’s a normal tournament from here on forward… I’m not allowed to lose anymore," Federer said.

"That’s how it has been every week of the year for the last 20 years, so from that standpoint there is nothing new there."

Federer was also quick to give credit to his opponent, who has now won the last three meetings between the two players.

"I thought he played well. The start definitely didn’t help, that put me on the back foot a little bit.

"But I recovered well, and I thought after that the match was actually pretty even for a long period of time.

"I had my chances, didn’t feel like I was outplayed or anything. Just maybe that first-round hiccups, not hitting your spots on the serve, getting into trouble early in the service games which perhaps doesn’t happen later on in the tournament.

"I thought also Dominic saved himself really well when he had to, so I thought he played a tough first-round performance today, and my game was probably just not good enough."