Wimbledon champion Roger Federer chased away his Argentine bogeyman tonight, crushing David Nalbandian 6-3 6-0 to remain unbeaten at the ATP Masters Cup.
Winless in five career meetings with Nalbandian, including three clashes this season, the 22-year-old Swiss needed just 71 minutes on a sun-kissed stadium court to dispatch his personal demon and move to the top of Blue Group standings with a 2-0 record.
Having registered his first career win over Andre Agassi in his opening match at the season-ending event on Monday, Federer wasted no time stamping his authority on the contest storming to a 5-0 lead in the first set.
But for a brief moment, it appeared the muscular Argentine might comeback to haunt Federer when he cut the Swiss lead to 5-3.
With the crowd stirring, Federer steadied himself and ripped through the next seven games in devastating fashion to take the opening set and the match.
Despite two impressive wins, Federer cannot finish the year ranked number one. His slim chances of taking the top spot disappeared following Andy Roddick's win over Carlos Moya on Tuesday.
In another Blue Group match later on Wednesday, Agassi will meet second seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain.