Novak Djokovic flattered Roger Federer in the most brutal way, saving his best for his Australian Open semi-final versus his old rival. The Tennis Review looks back at the world No.1’s dominant display.
This is the first time one of their Australian Open matches has gone beyond straight sets
Djokovic’s 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win was the first time one of his matches with Federer down under went beyond straight sets. Federer won the first in three in the 2007 fourth round and Djokovic took the 2008 and 2011 semis without dropping a set.
This match looked like it might go the way of their previous encounters when Djokovic ran away with the first set to the loss of just 11 points in 22 minutes and then dominated the second set 6-2,
Djokovic saved his best for Federer
Federer had to fight hard to make a match of it. The world No.1, who hit 33 winners to 20 errors over the course of the match, struck the ball with such depth and weight that for the first two sets Federer was never able to impose himself and found himself the victim of Djokovic’s rhythm as his defensive skills played into the hands of the Serb.
Djokovic return was brutal, too- he won 6/7 points off Federer’s second serve in the first set, and 8/12 in the second. The world no.1 was also serving at his best. Though his first serve percentage was low in the first set- 51- he won 91 percent of those deliveries, and 6/10 of his second serves. In the second, his serve got even better as he made 74 % of first serves in, won 86% of them, and was successful on 4 of the 5 second serves he struck.
The world No.1 could not keep his sublime level going, though, and as his errors increased and his depth and heaviness of shot dropped off, Federer fought back with better serving and improved returning, saving break point at 2-2 with a smash and then breaking for 4-2 with a cross-court forehand hit mid-court that forced a Djokovic error.
The Swiss then held his next two service games to take the third set 6-3 and started the fourth where he left off, getting to 0-30 on Djokovic’s serve in the opening game.
The Swiss could not keep his momentum going, however, and missed three second serve returns in a row, a surprise considering he had won 6 of 9 points on his second serve return in the third set, to trail 0-1 in the fourth. The Swiss did not let it get to him, though, and a pumped up Federer stayed with Djokovic right into the heart of the fourth set.
Leading 4-3, and returning, Djokovic had a little piece of luck, and if anyone has worked hard to get some it is him, when his passing shot hit the net cord and tore past Federer, earning him break point. The Serbian did not waste his chance, converting for a 5-3 lead with a ripping return that forced an error.
The defending champion then served out the match, a huge forehand on match point forcing an error off the Federer backhand to grab his third win over the Swiss in the last three slams.
Djokovic leads the head to head for the first time
Djokovic was tied 22-22 with Federer in their head to head prior to this match, and in all his long history with the Swiss he had never managed to lead their head to head. On the previous occasions when Djokovic had the chance to get ahead for the first time, such as in Cincinnati and in the WTF Round robin stage last season, the Serbian had failed, but this time he finally managed it.
The win means Djokovic is now ahead of his all top five rivals in their head to heads- he leads Rafael Nadal (24-23), Andy Murray (21-9), and Stan Wawrinka (20-4).
Djokovic will now play his sixth Australian Open final
Djokovic is already the record holder for most Australian Open titles in the Open era, and will be the heavy favorite to extend that record this Sunday. The Serbian will face either Andy Murray, whom he has beaten in all four of their encounters in Melbourne, including three finals, or Milos Raonic whom he has never lost to and who would be making his slam final debut.
For either Murray or Raonic, making the final might spark mixed feelings- if making an Australian Open final is the stuff players dream of, facing Novak Djokovic in the final, in the form he has shown against Federer, is what nightmares are made of.
Let us know your thoughts on the match in the comments box below
thetennisreview 
Leave a comment