Once again, at the business end of the first Grand Slam of 2020, we have the legendary tennis stars still dominating and competing for a place in the final. Thursday’s semi-final meeting is the 50th between Swiss master Roger Federer and Serbia powerhouse Novak Djokovic. Does anyone remember last year’s Wimbledon final? Djokovic has the edge over Federer in their first 49 meetings, 26-23. The pair have won 13 of the last 16 titles at Melbourne Park, with the Serb accounting for seven and the Swiss six.
What do we expect on Thursday?
“I obviously have tremendous respect for Roger and everything that he has achieved in this sport,” Djokovic said. “He’s definitely one of my two biggest rivals. I’ve said this many times before, and I’ll say it again – the match-ups against Roger and Rafa have made me the player that I am today. “I’m grateful to have had so many match-ups against those guys.”
A deeper look into Djokovic and Federer’s head-to-head might give Djokovic a slightly bigger edge than the overall lead. The Serb leads at the Grand Slams, 10-6, winning their last five meetings at the majors; and he’s also up 3-1 at the Australian Open, winning the last three meetings here, too. But Federer did win the pair’s last encounter, a swift 6-4, 6-3 victory in the round robin stage of the Nitto ATP Finals at the end of last year.
“I don’t know—I think conditions suit us well here,” said Federer, who’s won 22 of his last 23 matches at the event. “It’s probably something to do with court speed, and feeling comfortable down here. It helps when you start the year off with a bang. We were able to do that quite a few times. Despite some physical struggles in his win over Sandgren, he’s hopeful for the semifinals. “Semifinals, you have an extra day, adrenaline, there’s a lot of things. Two good nights of sleep, doctors, physios. Hopefully we’ll find out that it’s actually nothing bad, that it was just the groin that went really tight from playing a lot, who knows what, from nerves. I don’t know. But I’m hopeful. We’ll find out tonight, tomorrow. The next day we’ll see how it goes.”
Djokovic might not have hit the heights yet in Melbourne, but he hasn’t had to, winning through to the semifinals dropping one set on the way. His opposite number hasn’t had it easy though his path on paper would suggest otherwise. After making a great start, he has had to play two five set matches against John Millman and Tennys Sandgren. He looked to be feeling the effects of that physically against Sandgren, which would be concerning at the best of times. Against Djokovic, who has never lost a semifinal at the Australian Open, the odds are certainly stacked against Federer here. Roger’s health is a major concern heading into the semifinals and if he’s not fully fit this could get ugly.
Novak Djokovic looks primed for another final considering all variables but Roger Federer is the master of his game and has shown time and again that he can step it up when it matters most. Thursday’s match is for a place in the final and that is where it matters. Whatever you may be doing, do not miss this 50th instalment of their historic rivalry, world number two Novak Djokovic will take on world number three in rankings, Roger Federer, for a place in the Australian Open final.