For all of Roger Federer’s success at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, you might have to call the Australian Open truly his best tournament. And he’s now two wins away from defending his title in Melbourne and adding Grand Slam No. 17. But a huge challenge awaits in third-seeded Novak Djokovic. Federer opened at -275 on Bodog, with the match set to start Wednesday evening here in the U.S.
Federer was masterful in his quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win in just 1 hour, 47 minutes over 19th-seeded and fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. That result was surprising only in how one-sided it was. Yes, Federer had mostly dominated his friend in previous matches but Wawrinka was playing arguably the best tennis of his career with wins over Gael Monfils and Andy Roddick. The win got Federer into his 27th Grand Slam semifinal, tying Jimmy Connors’ record, and eighth straight semi at the Aussie Open, which is something Federer hasn’t done at any other Slam.
Djokovic (+200) was equally impressive last round, thumping 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych 6-1, 7-6, 6-1. Djokovic has had some success against Federer in Grand Slams. He beat Federer in 2008 in the semifinals of this tournament on the way to his first and only Slam title. And last year at the U.S. Open, Djokovic beat Federer in a terrific five-set semi in which Federer had two match points.
“I was playing good enough to win,” Federer said of the U.S. Open. “But I was a bit confused mentally, maybe, because we played the second session. … Maybe I just felt like I have to get out of this match as quick as I could to save energy to play Rafa the next day. I think it ended up hurting me losing the match at the end.”
Since that match, Federer has won three straight against Djokovic. If Federer, who is 13-6 all-time against the Serb, doesn’t win, he won’t hold at least one Grand Slam title for the first time since 2003. Federer, who has an Open Era-best 59-7 mark in Melbourne, is attempting to become just the second player in history to win five Australian Open titles and the first to accomplish the feat in the Open Era.
“Coming in here I was physically prepared, mentally motivated to make some success,” Djokovic said. “So I have nothing to lose playing Federer, who’s the title defender here. We all know everything about him. I have to believe in myself in order to win that match.”
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