Australian Open: Novak Djokovic is too hot for Federer to handle

The Serbian world No. 1 and defending champion reached his fifth Grand Slam final in a row late on Thursday (Jan 28) when he destroyed Roger Federer in the Australian Open semi-finals.

The world No 1 awaits the victor after a scintillating performance in his semi-final, his 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory putting him into a sixth Australian Open final, one win away from a sixth title.

Federer first saved the break point in the fifth game of the third set and then brought 15,000 hollering fans to their feet when a lunging Djokovic hit a backhand into tramlines to end a mammoth 11-minute game which handed the Swiss a 4-2 lead. From just about out of nowhere, the 34-year-old Swiss broke the Djokovic serve in a 3-2 game that went two five deuces and saw Federer miss three excruciating chances before final capitalizing on a fourth.

Djokovic will now take on either British number one Andy Murray or Canada’s Milos Raonic in the final, with the duo going head-to-head in the second semi-final. “I was very happy I got as much support as I did”.

Federer tried to halt Djokovic’s momentum at the start of the second set, saving a break point to hold serve with a roar.

Pummelling Federer with deep groundstrokes and using clever changes of pace to induce 12 unforced errors from his opponent, the Serb wrapped up the set inside 23 minutes. I thought I had a tough draw here, so I’m actually pleased with my level at the beginning of the season.

“I played flawless tennis for the first two sets, no doubt about it”.

When Djokovic led 6-1, 5-1 it seemed as though Federer might be heading for one of his heaviest Grand Slam defeats. She was two matches away from a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 when she lost to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals.“Physically Im feeling a lot better, mentally I needed that break after the Open, ” Williams said, but “I didnt think I would do this well this fast.”.

In the early stages of the third set, Federer was finally starting to find his footing, holding easily in his first two games. If Djokovic wins in Melbourne, he will also be crowned tennis’ first $100 million man. They have made me a better player.

“You know, if she’s playing her game, it’s a different level…”

Radwanksa said there will little she could do in the first set to combat Williams, “she started unbelievable, with such a power and speed”. The five-time Australian Open champion credited his struggles in the fourth round against Gilles Simon for helping him hone his focus for his 45th career meeting with Federer.

“I’m playing good tennis, fun tennis for me anyway”. I have nothing to lose on saturday. Radwanska came on really strong in the second set, but couldn’t overcome Williams’ strong game.

After four minutes, Federer was two games down leaving Djokovic to comfortably move into his sixth Australian final.

Williams remained unbeaten in nine matches against Radwanska, whom she beat in the 2012 Wimbledon final.