Novak Djokovic was brilliant against Roger Federer, defeating the legendary opponent on his way to the eighth Australian Open finals. The world No.2 ended this contest in three sets, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3, and after two hours and 16 minutes of play posted his 27th win over Roger.
The Serb started the match very badly, allowing Federer to take a 4-1 lead and to have a chance to make it 5-1, but crawled his way back into the game, and eventually posting a triumph.
“He got off to a good start and I was pretty nervous at the beginning,” said Novak.
Djokovic’s slow start quickly turned into a display of his domination on the court. He was hurting Roger from all angles, and from the moment when he trailed 5-2, once he woke up, he never gave FedEx the slightest chance for making an upset here. Though, Novak admitted to the fans and the public that the result wasn’t entirely the consequence of his excellent performance, but also, Roger’s inability to give his maximum.
The Swiss already had two exhausting matches in the previous rounds and was also battling with the groin injury. After the end of the first set, he took the medical timeout to seek a doctor’s assistance.
“I have to say I respect Roger for coming out tonight. He was obviously hurt and not close to his best in terms of movement,” Djokovic told.
After the first, the other two sets were pretty much a routine for the Serb, who made one break in each of them, and that was eventually enough for him to capture both. Djokovic was waiting for the moment to strike, often having break point chances, but failing to use them. However, everything ended up perfect for him.
Meanwhile, Roger gave his best. With 39 years of age, the fantastic Swiss who has 6 trophies here, was too tired for a tougher resistance. As the match approached its end, he was trying to reduce the rallies and to save energy as much as possible, yet that tactic didn’t work out well.
“I was just trying to take big cuts at the ball, trying to keep the rallies to a minimal,” he said.
Still, Roger isn’t feeling disappointed.
“Overall, at the end of the day, I guess I’m very happy. I got to be happy with what I achieved.”
This was the 50th meeting of these two superstars. Novak, as we said, has a better head-to-head record with 27 triumphs, compared FedEx’s 23. The Serb is now heading to his 8th finals, where he faces the winner of the clash between Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev. It will be very interesting to see these two youngsters who have the ambition to surpass the Big Three in the near future.
If he wins, that will improve his record here in Australia, which stands at seven titles at the moment. Novak is by far the most dominant player ever here in Melbourne.
The second semifinals are scheduled for tomorrow, and the finals are this Sunday.
