Australian Open 2020 semifinal: What's at stake for Federer and Djokovic as they lock horns for the 50th time?

The second most prolific rivalry in men's tennis history is all set for its 50th denouement, as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic lock horns for a place in the 2020 Australian Open final.

Djokovic (7) and Federer (6) have the most Australian Open titles of any player in the Open Era or otherwise. Perhaps not surprisingly, Federer (102) and Djokovic (73) also have the most match wins of any player at the tournament.

Except for a set lost against German Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round, Djokovic has been near flawless in his 5 victories at Melbourne Park. He has respectively seen off Tatsuma Ito, Yoshihito Nishioka, Diego Schwartzman and Milos Raonic in straight sets to reach his 8th Australian Open semifinal.

Federer on the other hand has had a more circuitous route to the last four. Following straight set wins over Steve Johnson and Filip Krajinovic in the first two rounds, the 38-year-old needed to claw back from a 4-8 deficit in the match tiebreak before downing his 2018 US Open conqueror John Millman.

Federer dropped another set in the next round against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics before pulling off his grandest Grand Slam heist in the quarterfinals.

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Against American Tennys Sandgren, an ailing Federer, inhibited in his movement, saved 3 match points at 4-5 down in the fourth and a further four in the ensuing tiebreak before running out 6-3 victor in the fifth, which extended his perfect quarterfinal record at the tournament to 15-0.

In his 15th Australian Open semifinal, Federer would take on defending champion Djokovic, with the winner of the match guaranteed to appear in a record-extending 8th Australian Open title match. The Swiss maestro beat Djokovic in the 2007 fourth round but has come out second best in the pair's 3 subsequent meetings in the tournament - the semifinals in 2008, 2011 and 2016 respectively.

Federer trails Djokovic 6-10 in Grand Slam matches and 18-19 on hardcourt, but has split his 26 outdoor hardcourt meetings with the Serb. This would be the 24th meeting between Federer and Djokovic in a tournament semifinal, with Djokovic leading 12-11, which includes a 5-2 record in the last 4 stage of a Grand Slam tournament.

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Federer's win in the 2019 ATP Finals snapped his five-match losing streak in all competitions against the Serb. The Swiss would seek to do likewise in his 6th Grand Slam meeting against Djokovic since beating the 16-time Grand Slam champion in the 2012 Wimbledon semifinals.

2012 Wimbledon semis: Federer beat Djokovic

The 6-time Australian Open champion is also on a 5-match losing streak against Djokovic in hardcourt Grand Slam matches since beating the Serb in the 2009 US Open semifinals. In a record-extending 46th Grand Slam semifinal (31-14), Federer would look to end his recent poor record against Djokovic and move to within one win of a record-extending 21st Grand Slam title.

Federer has won 4 of his last 5 Grand Slam semifinal matches (lost to Rafael Nadal at 2019 Roland Garros) while Djokovic has lost just once (against Dominic Thiem at 2019 Roland Garros) in his last 12. Djokovic will be putting his perfect 7-0 record in Australian Open semifinals on the line against Federer, who is 7-7 at this stage of the tournament.

Both men would have no dearth of motivation in their 50th clash. Following Nadal's defeat to Thiem in the quarterfinals, Djokovic's successful title defence would return him to the numero uno position that he most recently occupied at the 2019 Paris-Bercy Masters. Meanwhile, Federer is 2 wins away from becoming the oldest Grand Slam champion in the Open Era.