Roger Federer Played the Point of the Aussie Open vs. Novak Djokovic on Thursday

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Roger Federer Played the Point of the Aussie Open vs. Novak Djokovic on Thursday

Faced with a dialed-in Novak Djokovic during Thursday night’s semifinal at the Aussie Open, Roger Federer was under pressure all night. And we don’t mean your normal, run-of-the-mill pressure. Djokovic was in a sinister mood, and he was playing brutally physical, near-perfect, otherworldly tennis. That’s why it was remarkable that Roger Federer was even in a fourth set after winning just three games in the first two sets, let alone holding his own in own in this match.

But lo and behold, Federer was. And when he made this miracle backhand (see above, and bow down) at the end of one of the best defensive combos he’s ever executed, it looked like maybe—just maybe—Federer was going to hang on and force a fifth set against Djokovic.

It didn’t turn out that way, Djokovic won the final six points after this bit of Federer genius, but this point shows, in one sublime sequence, the kind of heart that Federer put into making a match out of what could have been a three-set knockout.

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