World No.2 Novak Djokovic is a win away from claiming an historic eighth Australian Open title after downing nemesis Roger Federer in straight sets on Thursday.
The 16-time grand slam winner overcame some stern resistance from the Swiss maestro to prevail 7-6(1),6-4, 6-3. Increasing his stronghold in their head-to-head to 27-23 in his favour. Throughout their latest clash the serve was key for the reigning champion, who dropped just 12 points behind his serve during the last two sets of the match. Overall, he hit 31 winners to 18 unforced errors and broke Federer four times in total.
The 50th showdown between the two titans of men’s tennis was their first grand slam encounter since Wimbledon. On that occasion they battled it out for almost five hours with Federer seeing two championship points come and go before Djokovic prevailed in a thriller. However, this time round there was a different feel to the match. Injury questions had been raised of Federer’s current fitness with taping being placed around his right thigh. Shifting the odds more towards Djokovic’s favour, who hadn’t dropped a set in his four previous matches in Melbourne.
“I just want to say respect for Roger coming out tonight. He was obviously hurt and wasn’t close to his best in terms of movement.” Djokovic said during his on-court interview.
“It was probably not the right mindset from my side at the start of the match. I was looking more at how he is moving rather than executing my shots in the right way.’
“I managed to dig my way through the first set and it was very important to win it. I relaxed a bit after that and swing through the ball a little bit more.”
It would be yet another roller-coaster clash that was best illustrated by the first set. 20-time grand slam champion Federer started guns blazing by dismantling his rivals serve early on en route to a swift 4-1 lead. Triggering alarm bells in the camp of the Serbian. Despite the start, Djokovic valiantly battled back. Capitalising on a slip dip in the consistency of his rival. Gaining in momentum, the second seed sealed the opener with an almost flawless performance in the tiebreak. Dictating the rallies with a combination of power and delicate shot-making. On his first set point, Djokovic clinched the lead by hitting a clean backhand winner off a Federer serve.
Neither player appeared to be suffering on the court, however, proceedings were briefly halted at the end of the opener with Federer taking a medical time out. Presumably to treat the same issue that bothered his during his previous clash with Tennys Sandgren. Upon resumption, both players matched each other game-by-game but it was still Djokovic who had the upper hand. Throughout the second set the Serbian dropped just four points behind serve. Nudging ahead at 5-4, he struck at the best possible moment. A cross-court shot from the 16-time grand slam champion drew an unforced error from Federer. Gifting Djokovic a set point for the two sets leave. On the first time asking he converted with an emphatic pick-up winner at the net.
Closing in on a place in the Melbourne final for the eighth time in his career, Djokovic continued to dismantle the threat posed from across the court with ease. In the third fame he dealt his next blow six games in. A five-point winning streak that concluded with a forehand cross-court winner painting the line, gifted another break to edge him closer to the finish line. Admirably Federer continued to battle hard, but he was unable to tame Djokovic. Who prevailed on his first match point, thanks to another error from Federer.
“I think sometimes less thinking is better. I was over-thinking at the beginning and trying to strategize too much in the middle of the point. You don’t have a lot of time to think about the various options and just have to follow your gut feeling.” Djokovic reflected during an interview with Eurosport following the match.
“I was fortunate to serve well. I think that got me out of trouble many times tonight and I would take that as the best part of my game tonight.” He added.
Awaiting Djokovic in the semi-finals will be either Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev. Two players set to play in their maiden Australian Open semi-final on Friday. He leads Thiem 6-4 in their head-to-head on the ATP Tour and leads Zverev 3-2.
Should he win the title on Sunday, Djokovic will overtake Rafael Nadal and return back to world No.1. A position he has already held for 275 weeks in his career.
