Losing the third set was irritating, but that was a terrifying;y perfect performance overall from Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer’s resistance was admirable, but even he’ll have to admit that it was a thrashing, especially in those absurd first two sets. That was as well as Djokovic has ever played and Federer actually did well to avoid total humiliation. It’s testament to his character and quality that he made it a more even contest in the third set, but there was never a serious prospect of Djokovic losing. His extraordinarily sadistic start could hardly have been a better way to hammer home his position as the greatest player in the world, he now leads 23-22 in his head-to-head record with Federer and it is going to take a monumental effort from either Andy Murray or Milos Raonic to beat him in Sunday’s final. Murray and Raonic meet in the second men’s semi-final tomorrow. See you then! Thanks for reading and emailing. Bye.
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NOVAK DJOKOVIC BEATS ROGER FEDERER 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3!
The Federer revival has been stamped out clinically, ruthlessly and without remorse. That was quite the statement from Djokovic, who won the game even with Federer producing some of his best tennis. There are going to be no more gifts. The end is nigh. Djokovic easily carves out three match points and he only needs one, a limp Federer backhand flapping into the net. It’s over! Novak Djokovic has reached the Australian Open final again! He’s never lost one.
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Fourth set: Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 5-3 Federer* (*denotes server): Djokovic suddenly ups his level, reaching for a forehand and drilling it past Federer, who had elected to serve-volley. That’s ominous. Very ominous. Federer then doesn’t do enough with a volley and Djokovic raps a backhand past him for 0-30. If Federer’s not careful, the match could be settled in the next few points. Yet he gets it back to 15-30 and then, just when all seems lost, he offers a searing reminder of his greatness by winning an astonishing point. Djokovic appeared to have won it wrapped up on several occasions - he had two smashes, for crying out loud – but Federer somehow stayed in it. Djokovic speared a volley into the left corner – and Federer incredibly flicked a backhand down the line! That’s one of the shots of the tournament. But it’s not enough. Federer comes to the net on the next point and Djokovic wallops a backhand past him, though he did get lucky with a net cord – Federer might have been able to win the point with a volley otherwise. Break point. It’s effectively match point. Federer tries to serve-volley. Djokovic’s forehand is too good. He’ll serve for a place in the final.
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Fourth set: Djokovic* 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 4-3 Federer (*denotes server): The first two points are shared, but Djokovic races through the next three to hold to 15. Could we be heading for a tie-break? They’re racing through the service games at the moment.
Fourth set: Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 3-3 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer is serving well, but the game goes to 30-all when he nets a backhand. He could do with a first serve here, but he gets away with a second serve, Djokovic sending a backhand long at the end of a cagey rally. Federer holds to 30. The tension grows. This is getting tighter.
Fourth set: Djokovic* 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 3-2 Federer (*denotes server): “Djokovic does not seem to have a particularly monstrous serve,” says Shankar Mony. “But what makes it so hard to break?” Placement and consistency help. As it to make the point, he slices an ace down the middle to hold to 30 here. It’s still hard to see him losing this match.
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Fourth set: Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 2-2 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer clearly believes he can pull off an incredible comeback, clenching his fist when he moves into a 30-0 lead, and he holds to love. The fourth set remains low-key.
Fourth set: Djokovic* 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 2-1 Federer (*denotes server): Djokovic holds to 15, Federer unable to get a read on his serve in this game.
Fourth set: Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 1-1 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer holds to 30. It’s been a slow start to the fourth set, unsurprisingly so after the delay.
Fourth set: Djokovic* 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 Federer (*denotes server): I believe that it’s not actually raining yet in Melbourne, so Federer probably won’t be happy about the tournament organisers taking the precautionary measure of closing the roof. Yet the delay seems to have disrupted Djokovic’s rhythm once play is resumed and he’s quickly down 0-30 on his serve. But Federer lets him off the hook with three careless returns, each of them finding the net. Who put that there, he wonders. Djokovic holds to 30, without having to work too hard. That was sloppy from Federer and he may live to regret it.
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So this is now an indoor match. Novak Djokovic has lost one indoor match in the past three years and while that was against Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals in November, he followed that up by crushing him in the final.
PLAY IS SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF (THE PROSPECT OF) RAIN!
The tracksuits are on and they’re putting on the roof. Federer must take care not to lose the momentum he’s been building during this delay.
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Roger Federer wins the third set 6-3; Novak Djokovic leads 6-1, 6-2, 3-6!
Federer begins by ramming a forehand down the line. Djokovic doesn’t bother chasing after it, he just dusts himself down and wins the next point. The game goes to 30-all and Federer wastes a challenge by querying a Djokovic backhand winner that landed on the baseline. The camera locates Mirka, who’s got her head in her hands. She needn’t worry. Her husband earns a set point when Djokovic mishits a backhand return. But Djokovic isn’t done. A monstrous forehand from right to left from almost knocks Federer off his feet. The set point is saved. Yet he’ll have to do it again when Federer beats him with a forehand pass. Federer can’t take that one, but he gets a third chance when he crunches a big serve down the middle, and this time Djokovic squirts a forehand long! He was staring down the precipice half an hour ago and now look, Federer has somehow forced a fourth set! I suppose the good thing is that the way the first two sets whizzed by means he won’t be too tired now.
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Third set: Djokovic* 6-1, 6-2, 3-5 Federer (*denotes server): Djokovic holds to 15, forcing Federer to serve for the third set. That wasn’t on the cards 20 minutes ago.
Third set: Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 2-5 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer has woken up! This is more like it! At 30-all, he cracks a forehand down the line, Djokovic nowhere near it, and he’s a game away from forcing a fourth set when Djokovic nets a forehand return.
Third set: Djokovic* 6-1, 6-2, 2-4 Federer (*denotes server): For the first time in a while, Federer finds himself with a 15-30 lead on Djokovic’s serve, working his opponent over with a series of one-handed backhands, and then he earns his first break points of the match, standing up strongly at the net and taking a 15-40 lead with a superb volley. Here comes the fightback. Djokovic saves the first break point with a fine serve and Federer squanders the second with a wasteful forehand. Deuce. Yet Federer is playing with more belief now and a journey to the net is rewarded when Djokovic pulls a backhand wide. Here’s a third break point. Again, though, Federer misfires with a forehand. What would have been a winner down the line zooms long. He looks furious. Still, at least it’s more of a fight now, with Djokovic struggling to close the game out, Federer frustrating him with an array of beautiful shots. This is turning into an awkward game for Djokovic and he finds himself break point down for a fourth time when he drops a volley a touch long, allowing Federer to race forward and guide a forehand past him. And this time, Federer makes the breakthrough, a short ball letting him run around a forehand and wallop it into the left corner, where Djokovic can only knock a backhand wide. Federer breaks!
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Third set: Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 2-3 Federer* (*denotes server): A sign of Federer’s muddled thinking comes when he lashes an easy forehand volley miles wide at 30-0. He isn’t able to relax against Djokovic. He’s always worrying about making the shot perfect and as such, he ends up making error after error in his quest to get the ball out of Djokovic’s bendy reach. Soon it’s 30-all; then it’s 30-40, Djokovic deftly flicking a gorgeous forehand pass from right to left. Yet Federer is grimly clinging on and he saves the break point with a smash, before somehow managing to hold serve. He’s slowly beginning to get a bit of confidence, but it’s probably come too late.
Third set: Djokovic* 6-1, 6-2, 2-2 Federer (*denotes server): Djokovic enjoys a routine hold to love. Here, is he going to better Federer’s record of 17 grand slam titles?
Third set: Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 1-2 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer holds to 15. And?
Third set: Djokovic* 6-1, 6-2, 1-1 Federer (*denotes server): Djokovic’s dominance is so complete that he can even afford to applaud a rare bright moment for Federer, who makes it 15-all with a lovely drop volley. We’ve not seen many of those shots from Federer today. He’s not been allowed to make them. Djokovic holds to 30 with an ace out wide.
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Third set: Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 0-1 Federer* (*denotes server): By holding here, Federer has at least equalled his worst grand slam loss, his 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 defeat to Rafael Nadal in the 2008 French Open final.
Novak Djokovic wins the second set 6-2; he leads 6-1, 6-2
There is no drama. No unlikely comeback. Federer was indeed only delaying the inevitable. Djokovic will not be denied. Stand in his way if you like, he’s just going to steamroller all over you and rumble on regardless. He strolls into a 40-0 lead, earning three more set points in stress-free fashion, and he takes a two-set lead when a Federer backhand sails long. This isn’t the epic we were promised!
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Second set: Djokovic 6-1, 5-2 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer must think that Djokovic is going to show a bit of sympathy when he hits a forehand winner for 40-30. Go on, let him have the game. Be nice. Be a friend. Go on. Please? Think again. Djokovic keeps on cyborging , crisp tennis earning him a set point. Federer saves it with an emphatic smash – not before Djokovic had hoicked back the first emphatic smash – but Djokovic carves out a second opportunity with a piercing forehand. Yet Federer is determined to at least salvage a sliver of dignity. He saves the second set point, Djokovic only able to net a forehand return, and he holds with some resolute serving. Yet he’s probably only delaying the inevitable. “Federer hardly ever elects to receive when he wins the toss,” says Amar Breckenridge. “Was that a signal that he was fearful? In any event, seems like Djokovic sensed blood right from the start…”
Second set: Djokovic* 6-1, 5-1 Federer (*denotes server): Federer has made 20 unforced errors to Djokovic’s four. This is remarkably flawless tennis from the world No1 and brilliantly disrespectful in its execution. Roger who? Federer will serve to stay in the second set, whatever that means. Those are just words, aren’t they?
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Second set: Djokovic 6-1, 4-1 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer lost his serve five times in his first five matches. Thirty-three minutes was all it took for him to lose it three times against Djokovic. You’d be finding this painful to watch even if you were Federer’s worst enemy. This is pure misery for him, the stuff of nightmares. His mind is a mess. Mirka looks on grimly in the stands. At 15-all, he leaves a smash, lets Djokovic back into the rally and loses it when he hits a forehand long, before conceding two break points when he’s unable to deal with a blistering backhand return at the net. There’s a feeling of inevitability about the subsequent Federer forehand that drifts sadly past the baseline. Someone pass him the smelling salts. Djokovic is utterly rampant.
Second set: Djokovic* 6-1, 3-1 Federer (*denotes server): If this was a boxing match, there’d already be calls to ban the sport for ever. It’s that brutal. How are you supposed to live with Djokovic when he’s in this form? He holds to 30.
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Second set: Djokovic 6-1, 2-1 Federer* (*denotes server): Here’s trouble. Two errors from Federer make it 0-30 and when he makes a desperate charge to the net, Djokovic just chuckles and guides a surgical forehand down the line to earn three break points. He only needs one. Federer goes for broke with a forehand, it flies long and Djokovic breaks again. Federer challenges the call, but HawkEye can’t rescue him. He’s alone out there and there’s nothing to protect him against the awesome might of Novak Djokovic, who’s achieving the rare feat of making Federer look old.
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Second set: Djokovic* 6-1, 1-1 Federer (*denotes server): Federer has changed his racket. Maybe that’s the answer. He’d better hope it is. In terms of games won, what we’ve just witnessed was his worst opening set since he lost the first set of the 2014 Davis Cup final 6-1 to Gael Monfils. He ended up losing in straight sets that day and it could be a similar story here. Djokovic holds to love. Federer just can’t work out how to approach the net with any effect at all.
Second set: Djokovic 6-1, 0-1 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer cannot afford to drop his serve here, else this is going to get even uglier. With that in mind, he can probably do without dumping easy volleys into the net at 15-all. It’s not the most encouraging of starts and although he gets it back to 30-all, Djokovic is once again too strong when the rally is extended. Here’s a break point. It might as well be a match point, the way this is going. Yet Federer saves it with a rasping forehand and that seems to shake him out of his lethargy a little, as he wins the next two points to hold.
Novak Djokovic wins the first set 6-1!
Defiance stirs in Federer at last, as he clumps a forehand away to take a 0-15 lead. That’s a bit more like it. Yet Djokovic is in the zone. There’s no room for anyone else in the zone. He gets it back to 15-all. They rally. Federer whips a forehand into the right corner. Djokovic gets there and flashes a stunning forehand pass from right to left, the ball landing just inside the line. He clenches his fist, stares dementedly at his box and then earns two set points with an unreturned serve to the frayed Federer backhand. Federer musters some resistance in an attempt to preserve his dignity, an overhead backhand saving the first set point, but Djokovic isn’t in the mood for a long argument and he simply ignores that insubordination and takes the set with a serve down the middle that Federer can only weakly send back into the net, which is certainly earning its coin today. The first set is Djokovic’s after only 22 minutes and that, my friends, was terrifying. I think we can safely say that the Simon match was just a blip.
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First set: Djokovic 5-1 Federer* (*denotes server): The torture continues. Come to think of it, actually, I shudder to think of what medieval punishments would have been like if he had been in charge of coming up with them. More ferocious hitting establishes a 15-40 lead, two break points, and he absolutely batters Federer in a grim rally, withering forehands crushing his opponent’s spirit. Federer dribbles a forehand into the net and he’s been broken for a second time. He is being played off court. This is absurd. Djokovic will serve for the first set after a staggering 18 minutes.
First set: Djokovic* 4-1 Federer (*denotes server): Djokovic is pummelling Federer with his forehand. You fear for Federer at the moment and the one-sidedness is making him force the issue too much, the unforced errors piling up as he attempts to assert himself. That’ll play straight into Djokovic’s hands. From 40-0, there’s a glimmer of light for Federer, who forces it back to 40-30. Yet that’s as close as he gets, Djokovic holding again when Federer slaps a shot into the net.
First set: Djokovic 3-1 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer holds to love. That’ll make him feel slightly better.
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First set: Djokovic* 3-0 Federer (*denotes server): Federer is after an immediate riposte and he wins the first point of this game, a sliced backhand return unbalancing Djokovic and causing him to slip on the baseline. Djokovic responds with an accurate ace down the middle, though, and he rattles through the next three points with ease, polishing off the game with a glorious forehand pass. Federer isn’t in this at the moment. It’s all Djokovic. This is his court and Federer is going to have to hit at astonishing peak to wrestle control of it away from the world No1.
First set: Djokovic 2-0 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer whooshes an ace out hide. Djokovic sends it back with interest, but Federer bangs a forehand winner into the opposite corner. Yet Djokovic is soon clambering all over him, hitting the ball deep, and two errors from Federer makes it 15-30. Djokovic is looking ominously sharp and he overpowers Federer again to earn two break points. He zings another forehand out wide and Federer panics a forehand wide. Djokovic breaks immediately! The world No1 has made a superb start. He’s only lost one point!
First set: Djokovic* 1-0 Federer (*denotes server): With all due respect to Andy Murray and Milos Raonic, both of whom have realistic hopes of winning this title, the final before the final is underway. Roger Federer won the toss, but he chose to receive. Novak Djokovic is unflustered, curling an ace into the corner for the first point, before taking a 30-0 lead. Federer then tries a change of approach, charging forward off a return, but Djokovic just arrows a backhand down the line for 40-0 and he holds to love.
Time! Play will be underway in a minute.
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The roof is open and the sky is blue. Will that help Federer?
The players are out. They’re knocking up. The tennis will be underway soon.
This is their 10th meeting in a grand slam semi-final, Djokovic winning five to Federer’s four. There have been some classics, the best of them arguably coming at the US Open in 2011, when Djokovic fought back from two sets down to win 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. You may recall the staggering forehand he hit off a Federer serve to save match point in the decider. The crowd loved it and Djokovic lapped up the acclaim, but Federer wasn’t happy.
“I mean, please,” he said. “Some players grow up and play like that – being down 5-2 in the third, and they all just start slapping shots. I never played that way. I believe hard work’s going to pay off, because early on maybe I didn’t always work at my hardest. For me, this is very hard to understand. How can you play a shot like that on match point? Maybe he’s been doing it for 20 years, so for him it was very normal. You’ve got to ask him.”
A tetchy response from the loser, who could have shown a touch more grace in defeat. This hasn’t always been the friendliest of rivalries, but that was a shot that summed up Djokovic’s never-say-die spirit. You can never relax against him, even when he looks beaten. Has there ever been a greater escape artist? No situation is too dire and he’ll still be a threat if he goes two sets down today. That’s partly because of how much he loves this court. Federer has won four Australian Opens, but Djokovic has five. They’ve played each other three times here and Djokovic has won their past two meetings, winning semi-finals in 2008 and 2011. Beating Djokovic here is beginning to become as a big a challenge as defeating Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.
Djokovic had his revenge a year later, though, beating Federer 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 in their Australian Open semi-final, on the way to winning the first of his 10 grand slams, seeing off Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final.
Just think, the first time these two met in a grand slam was in the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2007. Roger Federer dismissed the young pretender 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 and went on to beat Fernando Gonzalez 7–6, 6–4, 6–4 in the final. A lot has changed since then. For starters, we’ve all got jetpacks now.
If Djokovic wins today, he’ll have a winning record over each of the Big Four for the first time in his career. He’d lead Federer 23-22, Murray 21-9 and Nadal 24-23. He overtook Nadal in the Doha final earlier this month. What else does he have to do to become the greatest?
Preamble
Hello. You know the drill by now. All that hype, all that excitement, all those romantics hoping against hope, clinging on to the belief that this will be the day when Roger Federer finds a way to beat the one man who pulls his pants down now that Rafael Nadal is rarely seen in the second week of a grand slam any more, none of it means anything once Novak Djokovic gets going. We’ve seen this before. We know how it goes. A tight first set. Could go either way. It might need a tie-break to separate them. Federer could win that. And if he doesn’t, he could take the second set. Could his 18th grand slam title be on the way?
Hype. Excitement. Romanticism. But here comes Djokovic, chipping away, being an all-round nuisance, always running, always bending and readjusting. The Federer serve falters. The old genius fades, unable to live with with his younger adversary over five gruelling sets. Djokovic soars. He roars and beats his chest. He wins. I’m thinking 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3, or perhaps 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, or even 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2, Djokovic moving a step closer to winning his 11th major.
So the crowd’s going to be on Federer’s side? Irrelevant. Djokovic won’t care. It was the same at the Wimbledon and US Open finals last year. He still won both. It might have bothered him in the past, when he was less sure of himself and more liable to become distracted by external factors, but not any more. There is a temptation to depict Djokovic as a cold-blooded cyborg, a tennis machine, a super computer that can predict and react to your every move with chilling efficiency, sometimes before you’ve even bothered thinking about it, but that’s not quite true. Djokovic is a swirling bag of emotions, it’s just that he knows how to control himself and channel it into positive energy that feeds into his champion tennis.
Why should it be different this time? There are plenty of good reasons to suspect that it will be the same old story - and a few that suggest it could have a different ending this time. Djokovic has struggled in the past few days, grinding past Andrea Seppi, racking up a century of unforced errors over five fraught sets with Gilles Simon, failing to convince in a quarter-final victory that had more to do with Kei Nishikori’s insipidness than his own brilliance.
Maybe he’s just been keeping his powder dry. Yet while Djokovic has toiled, Federer has been superb, not least in his breezy victory over Tomas Berdych on Tuesday. He has only dropped one set on his way into the last four, in his ultimately comfortable third-round win over Grigor Dimitrov, and the 34-year-old world No3 will feel confident of moving 23-22 ahead in his head-to-head record with Djokovic, who will need to up his level. Half of Djokovic’s six defeats last year were administered by Federer, after all, and the world No1 will have to be at his best to make sure the defence of his title doesn’t end here. All the same, don’t be surprised if the 45th chapter of this fascinating rivalry has a familiar feel. You know the drill.
Play begins at: 7.30pm in Melbourne, 8.30am GMT.
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