Djokovic tops Federer in straights for eighth Australian Open final

In the 50th meeting between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the Serb prevailed, in the semifinals of the Australian Open, 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-3. Here's how it happened; we'll have additional coverage from Joel Drucker in Melbourne.

While the first five games of the set went to the server, it was only because of Federer's serve that they remained close. Most rallies of moderate length went to Djokovic, who moved a clearly impaired Federer around the court with his consistent, peerless groundstrokes.

The dam broke with Federer serving at 2-3; Djokovic broke in a result that was as inevitable as it was impressive. Federer reached 0-30 in the subsequent game—would nerves play a factor, at all? Maybe if Djokovic hadn't already played Federer 49 times. The Serb recovered to hold, and not long after, he closed out Federer to reach his eighth Australian Open final. He's now 8-0 in Australian Open semifinals—and 7-0 in Melbourne title matches.

As for his rivalry with Federer, Djokovic's 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-3 win gives him a 27-23 lead.

"It could have definitely gone a different way," Djokovic said about his poor start. "Respect to Roger for coming out tonight—he was obviously hurt. He wasn't even close to his best in terms of movement.'

Was Djokovic thinking about his opponent's condition too much, at the beginning? Yes, he admitted.

"It was probably not exactly the right mindset," he said.

Djokovic's dominance in tiebreakers, particularly against Federer, was another factor in the win. It was just the latest victory in the superior head-to-head records against Federer and Nadal.

"It took a lot of thinking, a lot of belief," Djokovic said, "to challenge those guys (Federer and Nadal) on the biggest stage."

Djokovic will face either Alexander Zverev or Dominic Thiem for the title.

While the first set was pockmarked with breaks, the second was a holding pattern. Seven games in, and it was 4-3 Djokovic, who was playing clinical but not overwhelming tennis. Federer's aggressive mindset gave him slight openings in return games, but not nearly large enough to make a serious move.

To his credit, Federer continued to serve well—he's served exceptionally well this entire fortnight—mixing first serves around the box and keeping Djokovic's lethal return at bay. He held at love for 4-4.

The holding pattern continued with Djokovic easily reaching 5-4. And then, just like in the first set, Djokovic made his move.

It started when Djokovic pushed Federer to 30-30 with a drop shot that Federer couldn't keep in the court (a short backhand caught the tape). While Federer would win the next point, an error brought him to deuce. There, charging the net, the Swiss couldn't get enough of his racquet on a Djokovic running backhand. Set point to Djokovic.

Another net exchange between the two followed, this time with Federer drawing Djokovic in. But the second seed's scampering abilities allowed him to track down Federer's drop shot with a short winner, and a two-set lead was his.

Federer's net play has always been a strength, but in this game, it wasn't refined enough to hold off the Serb's latest surge.

Federer was fortunate to escape his quarterfinal match against Tennys Sandgren; the 38-year-old said so himself after saving seven match points and overcoming groin and leg ailments. That result, combined with Djokovic's routine win over Milos Raonic and a lopsided history between the two at the majors (the Serb has won their last five Slam encounters), made Federer a massive betting underdog in this semifinal:

I bet some fans were kicking themselves early on for not sprinkling a few dollars on the Federer moneyline. It was early, of course, but the Swiss could have not have started off better.

After saving two break points in the opening game, Federer held serve, then proceeded to break Djokovic with a pristine backhand-slice/backhand-pass combo. While Djokovic broke right back, Federer answered with his second break of the match for a 3-1 lead. Based on the quality of Federer's hitting and Djokovic's loose errors, you would have never guessed who the supposedly injured player was.

A drama-free hold for Federer gave him a 4-1 lead, and his aggressive, impressive play earned him three more break points at 0-40.

At this point, Federer had six aces—more than he had served in his entire five-set win over Sandgren (five). But Djokovic managed to escape, and you just knew that would be significant.

Djokovic made his move after an exchange of holds, while trailing 3-5. At one point, the winner total was 20 to 4, in favor of Federer. While Federer would end up leading that statistic by set's end, the tenor of the match had completely changed. Errors began to creep into Federer's game, while Djokovic slowly found some confidence with his normally imperious groundstrokes and returns. It amounted to a lengthy, rollercoaster set that required a tiebreaker to resolve.

Which was music to Djokovic's ears. He had won his last five tiebreaks over Federer—including three in last year's unforgettable Wimbledon final. Djokovic began this one with a big return that Federer couldn't keep in play with his reply. He stormed out to a 5-1 lead, taking command of the proceedings and forcing Federer to play above his comfort zone.

Tracking down a Federer drop-slice with a winning one of his own, Djokovic had slowly, but surely, climbed all the way back to win a set that looked utterly lost. I'm sure some betters were kicking themselves for not sprinkling a little cash on Djokovic to win the set while down 1-4, 0-40.

Here are the set sets, from the Australian Open's website:

After the set, Federer went off court to receive medical treatment.