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By Chris Oddo | Friday, January 30, 2015

 
Novak Djokovic, 2015 Australian Open semifinal

Novak Djokovic rode a roller coaster for three and a half hours on Friday night in Melbourne, and when he got off he was in the final.

Photo Source: Corleve

Novak Djokovic wasn't his usual otherworldly self during Friday night's Australian Open semifinal in Melbourne, but the seven-time Grand Slam champion was good enough to get past defending champion Stan Wawrinka to reach his fifth career Australian Open final, 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0. The scratchy, back-and-forth affair was light on quality but long on plot twists, as both men struggled to hold serve or maintain momentum over the course of the three hour and 30 minute contest.

“I was ready for the battle,” said Djokovic in an on-court interview with Jim Courier after the match.

In a match that featured 25 break points and 118 unforced errors, Djokovic needed to be ready for the battle, as his patience and mental toughness would be tested regularly over the course of this tense, needling affair.

Frequently the Serb held small leads only to give them back, and his quality, along with Wawrinka’s, seemed to dial in for a minute before disappearing into the ether again. It was a match of uninspired rallies and erratic play, and it lacked the fever pitch of their previous two Australian Open battles, but there were moments of elegance and authority in all that blur, just not as many as fans of the matchup have become accustomed to.

In the first set Djokovic blew his early break, then squandered two set points before finally pulling away in the tiebreak to take the early lead.

In the second set, a Djokovic double-fault would provide the margin of victory as Wawrinka would take advantage of the only break of the set and ride it out.

Djokovic would again break early in the third set and even have a break point for a 4-0 lead. But Wawrinka, who played better when behind on this evening, would rally to level, before allowing Djokovic to break for the set in the tenth game.

Fans were given a moment of levity after the third set when Djokovic, unaware that he had claimed the set, headed back to towel off and prepare for the next game. When he turned to find security on the court for a changeover he was puzzled at first before breaking into a smile. "Sometimes these things happen," Djokovic said. "There is a lot of tension, a lot of emotions going around. Sometimes you can't keep track of the score."

In set four Wawrinka dropped serve early again but broke back in the next game, then wiggled out of a 0-40 hole to level at 2-all, making a dazzling backhand volley stab to get to 30-40 that drew oohs an aahs from the crowd. Wawrinka would break for 4-3 and hang out to force the fourth deciding set in the pair's last four Grand Slam matches.

In between the surprising number of unforced errors in this match there were some gorgeous forehand passing shots struck by Djokovic, a few regal touch volleys by Wawrinka, and the occasional jaw-dropping rally.

But Djokovic lacked depth on his groundstrokes while Wawrinka’s backhand lacked its usual deadly torque and accuracy. It was the backhand that let Wawrinka down in the fifth set as he twice missed crosscourt attempts badly to give Djokovic his first two breaks.

With Djokovic leading 5-0, the Serb ripped his best down-the-line backhand of the night to set up match point, and on the next point Wawrinka sailed a forehand well wide to end the match.

Djokovic moves into his 15th career Grand Slam final, which places him at 8th place all-time. The Serb will bid for Grand Slam title No. 8 on Sunday when he faces Andy Murray.

Though it was not his most convincing effort, it was another act of perseverance for a player that has built his reputation on knowing how to win rather than knowing how to dazzle. Surely, he can do both when the situation calls for it. But on this night, all Novak Djokovic needed to do was win.


 

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