Melbourne: Novak Djokovic hammered an off-key Kei Nishikori and Roger Federer put on a masterclass against Tomas Berdych as they set up a dream semi-final at the Australian Open yesterday.
Defending champion Djokovic recovered strongly from his five-set struggle against Gilles Simon as he ousted Nishikori 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, after Federer swept aside Berdych 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-4.
Djokovic is seeking his 11th Grand Slam title while Federer, 34, is looking to extend his record tally to 18 – and both will want to take charge of their head-to-head, which is locked at 22-22.
“Any round (against Federer) feels like a final because of the fact that we are, you know, big rivals, we played so many times against each other,” Djokovic said.
“There’s a lot of tension. There’s a lot at stake. I’m expecting a great fight in two days.
Both players will have a close eye on today’s quarter-finals pitting Andy Murray against David Ferrer and Milos Raonic against Gael Monfils.
Djokovic will start as favourite against Federer after he beat him in the Wimbledon and US Open finals last year on his way to winning three Grand Slam titles and finishing runner-up at the French Open.
Tomorrow’s semi-final promises to be a test of Djokovic’s continued dominance of men’s tennis, after his achievement in losing only one Grand Slam match last season.
Hopes
In a sign of the pair’s hold on men’s tennis, Federer is into his 39th Grand Slam semi-final while Djokovic has 29. They were both on court for little over two hours yesterday.
Earlier Federer reached his 12th Australian Open semi-final in 13 years with a clinical straight-sets win over Berdych in two hours, 16 minutes.
The Swiss has high hopes he can add a fifth Australian Open title, even though his last Grand Slam success was back at Wimbledon in 2012.
“It means a lot. It’s part of the reason why I’m still playing,” Federer said. “I feel like I’m competitive at the top. I can beat all the guys on tour.
“It’s nice now that in the last three Slams that I’ve been as consistent as I have been.”
&uuid=(email))