Farewell Federer: Djokovic moves on to Australian Open final
MELBOURNE, Australia - Early in the second set on Thursday night, a fan let Roger Federer know exactly how he felt about the 17-time Grand Slam champion's performance.
"Three-hundred dollars for tickets tonight, Roger!" the fan yelled from the stands. Those $300 earned the guy a chance to see Novak Djokovic trounce all over Federer for the first two sets. So much for a heated rivalry.
Djokovic, 28, closed out a 6-1 first set in just 22 minutes. The next lasted 10 minutes and one game longer. The man who has won more Grand Slam singles titles than any other looked like a newcomer in those 54 minutes, incaple of answering Djokovic's commanding serve or deep winners.
Djokovic won 91 percent of his first-serve points in the first set, 86 percent in the second and converted four of his five break-point opportunities. He hit 17 winners to Federer's 11. The most telling statistic, though, was unforced errors: with 24, Federer committed four times as many as Djokovic.
The crowd did everything it could to rally the Swiss star. A Canadian man stood and waved a cowboy hat every time Federer put it between the lines. A few in the rafters yelled Roger's name just as Djokovic started to serve. When Federer, 34, earned his first break point opportunity of the match, they offered a standing ovation. He didn't convert that one, but he kept the game going and nine points later he succeeded. That gave him the 4-2 lead; he'd go on to take the set 6-3.
At least the fans hadn't paid all that money to see him crash out in straight sets. They now seemed to be satisfied with the effort. The match stopped briefly at the end of the third as rain started to fall in Melbourne and the organizers closed the roof. When they started again, the set stayed on serve through seven games. Fans dared to believe they'd see a five-setter after all.
In the eighth game, Federer fell into a 0-30 hole on serve. He battled back again, outlasting Djokovic in a phenomenal rally to even it at 30-30.
THAT point...you know which one we're talking about! #AusOpen #SCTop10 - https://t.co/BUeEOnmJxo
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 28, 2016
But that would be his final highlight of the night. Djokovic took the next two points for the break and the 5-4 lead. He served out the win with four unanswered points.
"His defense was terrific that point," Djokovic said later. "After it was done I had to just forget about it and focus on the next point. Managed to return two very good returns and pass him on the net. That was a crucial break."
"I know that if I drop my level or concentration or allow myself to get distracted by anything that he would take the first opportunity, jump on me, and just take the lead of the rallies. That's what he had done in the third. He just waits for a little drop from his opponent. That's why he's been so successful throughout his career... But I've played in these particular situations before, and managed to use theat experience."
He's played in these situations many, many times before. The two came into the match at an even 22-22 in their career head-to-head. With the win, Djokovic now holds a winning record against every other member of the top 5. He's 9-6 against Federer in Grand Slams.
Sunday's final will be Djokovic's sixth here, the most of any man in Australian Open history. He is a perfect 5-0 since winning his first title here in 2008, his first in any Grand Slam. This is his fifth final in as many Grand Slams, tying the mark set by Rafael Nadal from the 2011 French Open to the 2012 French Open. Only Federer has strung together a longer streak of finals appearances, with separate runs of eight and 10 appearances.
Djokovic will face the winner of Friday's semifinal between Andy Murray and Milos Raonic. He's 21-9 against Murray, 5-0 against Raonic.
