You don’t usually see a clue in the very first game of a match that reveals so much about what’s to come, but that was the case Thursday night, when Roger Federer played Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals. On a break point at 30-40, Djokovic engaged Federer in a rally and absolutely powdered a couple of cross-court forehands. He ended up winning the point, one of many that added up to 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-4 victory.
It was a statement rally, with Djokovic showing that he intended to impose himself from the baseline. As the match wore on, it became obvious that Djokovic’s forehand/backhand combination was flat-out more potent and consistent than Federer’s.
The first set was decided in a tiebreak, and it was a forehand into the net that gave Djokovic the first mini-break. He was able to stretch out the lead to 5-2, again, with his forehand doing the damage. The breaker ended 7-3; when Djokovic broke in the second set to lead 2-1, the Federer faithful must have been in full panic mode. Their man did break back, right away, and even amassed a 5-2 lead, but then his success with several earlier drop shots came back to bite him. With Djokovic holding a break point to get back on serve to 4-5, Federer attempted another drop shot. One of the problems with drop shots is that opponents get better at reading them over time, and Djokovic read it perfectly, then hit a forehand down-the-line winner to break.
With Djokovic serving in the next game, Federer tried another drop shot on game point, losing it when the Serb again read the play and slid a beautiful backhand chip cross-court for a winner. It was an ominous sign. It was also an admission that he needed to try something different, that the dynamic of the match was evolving out of his control.
Federer also became more edgy as the match progressed, apparently asking umpire Enrique Molina early in the second set about how long Djokovic was taking before he served. Later, in the third set, he complained to Molina about the behavior of Djokovic’s support team in the courtside seats.
Federer fought to the end, breaking Djokovic to get to 4-all from 2-4 down in the third set, but then proceeded to immediately lose serve, the last point being a lame sliced backhand into the net. It was sad to see, even for non-Federer fans.
Djokovic has been on a high since winning the Davis Cup in December, and his level has continued through the Hopman Cup three weeks ago and in his matches at Melbourne Park. He was incredibly solid off the ground and showed exceptional athleticism in running down Federer’s shots—the squeak of him sliding on the plexicushion court was the soundtrack of the match.
The total point differential was only 119 to 111 for Djokovic, but the match felt a lot more one-sided for the Serb.
—Tom Tebbutt