Novak Djokovic topples Roger Federer for Roland Garros’ final berth: Tennis Special
World number one, Novak Djokovic, got the better of the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, in straight sets at the French Open 2012 on Friday. He jolted down a 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 success against the third seed to power into the title-round at this second of the four
Grand Slam events of the season held in Paris.
The Serbian number one showed top notch skills to outsmart Federer in their 26th meeting. After stealing the fame in two hours and five minutes, Djokovic not only lowered trail in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head
series by 12-14 against the 16-time Grand Slam champion but also stayed on track to become first player to hold all four Grand Slam titles since Rod Laver.
"It's always an effort and it's always a challenge to be focused and play, take the maximum amount of your abilities out of these matches," Djokovic stated after the match. "That is the ask. That is something that you need to do if you want to be a winner
at the end of matches against one of your biggest rivals."
Seeded top in this prestigious clay court event, Djokovic made a sloppy entry at the Court Philippe Chatrier and suffered the first blow in the fifth game to trail at 2-3. However, he stayed calm and not only recovered in the very next game but cashed in
another break chance in the last game to click the opener with a 6-4 win.
The Swiss veteran rebounded in the follow-up set and went on a three-game killing spree to leap to a 3-0 lead. Despite losing his serve in the fourth game, Federer got the upper hand and was leading 4-2 when he stepped off steam.
Djokovic took advantage of this and after snatching his serve back and exchanging a serve break, he capitalised on another break opportunity in the last game and clinched the set with a 7-5 score line.
The Serbian Ace kept momentum rolling into the final set and swiftly swiped his entire serves without encountering any real challenge. He got the breakthrough in the sixth game and sealed the set by winning six games to three.
The former world number one, Federer, on the other hand displayed dismal performance throughout the epic encounter. He clobbered a lower first serve share of 56 per cent and spilled disappointing 46 unforced errors as opposed to Djokovic’s 17 which made
the difference.
"I thought he played well under tough conditions," Federer reflected. "I wasn't able to sustain maybe a solid enough game today. I did have enough chances, so it's no excuse there.”
Next in queue for Djokovic is the second seeded Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, who crushed his compatriot, David Ferrer, with a breadstick to set up this battle. The 25-year-old Djokovic needs to lift his game and stay focus in order to take down the King of Clay.
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