Djokovic beats Federer to reach Australian Open final
After beating Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic has admitted he could not have done better to reach the Australian Open final.
The Serbian star, whose only Grand Slam success to date came at the 2008 Australian Open, was in an inspiring form and beat the 16-time Grand Slam winner in straight sets to set up a clash with either Britain's Andy Murray or Spaniard David Ferrer.
Djokovic suffered illness for most of the 2010 season but returned to form towards the latter part of the year. He has carried that forward with an excellent showing in Melbourne.
The two-time US Open finalist was the underdog going into Thursday's semi-final with Federer but pulled off a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 6-4 victory to earn another crack at one of the big-four events.
Djokovic knew he had to pull out all the stops to beat one of the legends of the game and he felt that he could not have played much better to overcome the Swiss ace.
"It's one of the best matches I've played in a while," he said. "I had to take my chances. In the second set I was a break up but in 20 minutes I was 5-2 down. If I lost that set, God knows where it would have gone. But I played some of my best tennis to
win on this great arena."
The 23-year-old now has the luxury of an extra day's rest as the second semi-final takes place on Friday, and he will keep a keen eye on a contest that he believes could go either way.
"I'm looking forward to watching that match from my bed with some popcorn," Djokovic said. "No, they're both great players and in top shape. David played a great match against Rafa even though Rafa was injured, and Andy is playing really well on this court.
It's a Grand Slam final, anything can happen. I've just got to focus on myself."
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