Novak Djokovic hit some spectacular shots and showed true grit to hold
off a Roger Federer fight back as he reached the final of the Australian
Open for the fifth time in six years with a 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory on
Thursday.
For the first two sets, 17-times major champion Federer looked as
powerless as Agnieszka Radwanska had earlier on the same court when the
Pole was taken apart 6-0 6-4 by the reigning women's champion Serena
Williams.
Federer restored some pride by taking the third set and made the
champion work hard through some breathtaking rallies in the fourth
before the Serbian took his place in a title decider against Andy Murray
or Milos Raonic. "These were probably the best two sets I've played
against (Roger) over my career," said 28-year-old Djokovic, who will be
bidding for a record-equalling sixth Australian Open title on Sunday.
"This was I think a different level than from before. I'm just very,
very pleased that I was able to perform the way I did from the very
beginning till the end." Williams was in similarly dominant form in her
semi-final as she set up a date on Saturday with Germany's Angelique
Kerber, who reached her first grand slam final by ending Briton Johanna
Konta's fairytale run 7-5 6-2.
The 45th showdown between Djokovic and Federer, the best two hardcourt
players of their generations, was always going to be the highlight of
day 11 of the tournament.
Djokovic started brilliantly and played 55 minutes of near flawless power tennis to take a commanding two sets to nil lead.
Now playing under a closed roof, Djokovic took some time to regain his
level in the fourth but grabbed the crucial break for a 5-3 lead and
served out comfortably to reach his fifth straight grand slam final.
"You've got to try and stop the bleeding at some point," said Federer.
"It was tough to get back into it but I found a way and made something
of a match of it. But clearly I'm still disappointed."\
No comments:
Post a Comment