The victory extended Federer’s record to 2-0 at the season-ending event.

Federer, the world’s No. 2-ranked men’s player, looked unbeatable at the O2 Arena. He dropped just eight points on his serve in the match — three in the first set and five in the second.

“It’s a bit strange,” said Federer, who won 63 points to Murray’s 43. “Andy’s a good returner, one of the best we have in the game.”

But Federer didn’t just manage the match with his serve, he also forced Murray into long rallies when he was receiving. He pulled forehands to his left and hit them to his right, and the 16-time Grand Slam champion waited for his British opponent to make the errors or set up his winners.

“I don’t think Andy played his best match for sure,” Federer said of Murray, who made 26 unforced errors.

Later Tuesday, Robin Soderling was to face David Ferrer in the other Group B match. Federer can advance to the semifinals depending on the late result.

On Monday, top-ranked Rafael Nadal rallied to beat Andy Roddick 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 and third-ranked Novak Djokovic defeated Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3.

The ATP 250 event will feature a strong field again this year. World top 10 player Gael Monfils will be joined by last year’s runner up Jeremy Chardy, David Ferrer, and Feliciano Lopez of Spain as favorites this time around.

Tennis is huge in South Africa, and last year’s event was the first ATP level tournament in South Africa in 13 years. The Montecasino resort remains a major sponsor and its 6,000 seat stadium got rave reviews from all the players.

Filling out the draw will be young Swiss pro Marco Chiudinelli, Marc Giquel, and Florent Serra. American serve and volley player Rajeev Ram and veteran Xavier Malisse of Belgium will also be making the trip to South Africa. German Nicolas Kiefer is slated to play as well, after he has been out with injuries on and off for the past couple years.

It’s a great field, and the locals will have Rik deVoest to root for as he was granted a wildcard into the main draw. Look for Monfils or one of the Spaniards to be lifting up the trophy come Sunday, February 7.