World No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat third seed Roger Federer in a hard-fought four-set match 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and will now have an opportunity to defend his title in Melbourne this weekend.
Federer and Djokovic’s 45-match rivalry now stands at 23-22 to the Serb, who prior to today had beaten Federer in their last three Grand Slam meetings. Djokovic won 3 of last year’s four Slams, while Federer has not won a Grand Slam since 2012.
The two last met at the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London last year, with Federer beating Djokovic in the round robin matches, but Djokovic beat him in the finals of the very same tournament.
Federer dropped only a single set coming into today’s match against Djokovic, while the Serb’s hardest-fought battle came against French 14th seed Gilles Simon, who seriously tested the mettle of the World No. 1.
Simon took Djokovic to 5 sets, with the Serb committing a mammoth 100 unforced errors in the course of that match and gaining notoriety for the feat.
Djokovic now progresses to fight for his 6th Australian Open title. If he wins, he will equal Australian great Roy Emerson, who won the last of those titles in 1967.
The top seed’s backhand was in scintillating form today as he attacked Federer ruthlessly with some powerful serves. The Swiss changed up his own strategy today, sticking to the baseline more than he usually does – perhaps an influence of his new coach Ivan Ljubicic.
Federer took charge of the third set, however, and after three set points – including one that was successfully challenged by Djokovic – finally closed out the third set, carrying that momentum into the fourth.
The pair went neck-and-neck in the fourth set as Federer brought out the legendary SABR to salvage a few points, but he began trailing as the set drew to a close. Unable to sustain the power he had returned with, Federer committed 51 unforced errors to Djokovic’s 20 to eventually lose the match.
If you missed it, you can catch the highlights of the hotly-contested semi-final on SonyLIV.com or the SonyLIV app. You can also watch all Australian Open 2016 matches LIVE on SonyLIV.com or the app.
Djokovic will now play the winner of the other semi-final match – between Andy Murray and Milos Raonic, having played and beat Murray in the finals last year.
You can watch all Australian Open 2016 matches LIVE on SonyLIV.com or Sony LIV app.
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