Roger Federer crashes out in the semi-finals of the Australian Open
Dreams were shattered in the Australian Open yesterday when world number two, Roger Federer was defeated by the Serbian, Novak Djokovic. Federer’s defeat meant that neither of the world’s top two players will feature in the final of the first Grand Slam
tournament of 2011.
The defeat against Djokovic stopped Federer from chasing his fifth Australian Open title. He will have to start all over again next year in order to fulfil his dream.
World number one Rafael Nadal was chasing his fourth consecutive major title but his dream was also shattered, and with these two players out, the dreams of the fans to see a Nadal versus Federer final also disappeared.
The score-line may suggest that the match between Federer and Djokovic was a one-sided affair but that wasn’t the case. The first set between the two ended-up in a tie-breaker. Both players didn’t give each other an opportunity to break serve and played
competitive tennis. However, Djokovic played the better tennis in the tie-break which allowed the Serbian to take the set 7-6.
The second set proved to be a good one for Federer in the start, as the Swiss broke his opponents serve early to take a 5-2 lead. Federer then suddenly lost control on his serve and started to make too many unforced errors, which allowed Djokovic to take
the double break and win the set 7-5.
Things were looking grim for the former world number one as he was two sets down in the match. He tried hard to get an early break in the first game of the third set. However, Djokovic saved the break and pressurised Federer on his serve.
The Swiss once again committed too many mistakes, which gave Djokovic an early break in the third set. It seemed as if the game would be over for Federer but he bounced back with break of serve to level the set at 4-4. However, the break wasn’t enough for
Federer as Djokovic won the next two games to take the set 6-4.
Djokovic was delighted with the result and stated, “Already [being in the] finals is a great result, great achievement. I want to win it again. I believe I can. Hopefully I can pull up the best tennis.”
Federer praised the Serbian’s game and said that the match was very intense. He further stated that he was playing good tennis and would be looking forward to the season ahead.
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