If Roger Federer is to be stopped from winning a third consecutive Australian Open, it likely will have to come in Friday's semifinals (Thursday overnight in the U.S.) in Melbourne by third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
With unseeded (albeit impressive) Jo Wilfried-Tsonga of France waiting in the finals, it would seem Djokovic presents the last able challenger, although he is a sizable underdog at WagerWeb.com.
However, Federer is entering his record 15th straight Slam semifinal (five more than any other player in history) and looks to have his game righted after straight-set victories over Tomas Berdych and James Blake; he has won 19 straight matches in Melbourne. And Djokovic is only 1-5 career against the No. 1 player in the world, including a 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 in last year's Aussie Open Round of 16 after Djokovic predicted Federer would "go down."
'It's a question as to whether or not Djokovic really believes deep down that he can beat him," the Tennis Channel's Justin Gimelstob said. "When the pressure builds, Federer responds like no other player and the other guys tend to slip. That's what Djokovic has to show, that when the big points come, that he can bring out his best and respond in the clutch."
Federer is confident as always.
"I don't look forward to playing my best tennis about Novak Djokovic," he said. "I look forward to playing to win. That's what my mindset is, really."
However, Djokovic beat Federer in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal in August - 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (2) – while Federer got all he got handle from Djokovic in a tough U.S. Open final 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 after having five sets points in the opening set and two more in the second.Djokovic has not lost a set in reaching the semifinals, his fourth in a row at a Grand Slam event. He overpowered fifth-seeded David Ferrer 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 to reach these semifinals.
"I even surprised myself the way I played in the first two sets,' Djokovic said. `I'm happy I'm performing my best tennis at the major events.'
"He's done a phenomenal job," Federer said yesterday. "Four Grand Slam semifinals, I was never close to that at his age."
Djokovic says he is up for their semifinal match.
"They say the year after the breakthrough [going from No. 16 to No. 3 in 2007] is the most difficult but I'm feeling really, really good," he said. "I worked on my skills the past couple of weeks and changed my [racquet] strings. I'm playing with a lot of confidence."
"I think he's got a good shot," analyst Patrick McEnroe said of Djokovic. "The court is slow so that makes it tough for Roger."
Former U.S. Open champ Patrick Rafter agrees.
"I say he'll be a No. 1 player at some stage in his career," he said of Djokovic. "I've seen Federer play better, but these (Plexicushion) courts are probably not suiting him quite so much. ... You'd probably still put your money on Roger to win, but I think Djokovic has a really good chance."
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