Novak Djokovic shattered the hopes of ailing rival Roger Federer on Thursday to sweep into a record eighth Australian Open final and move closer to his 17th Grand Slam crown.
In the 50th instalment of one of sport’s greatest rivalries, the Serb shrugged off a tentative start to reinforce his recent dominance, showing no mercy to the Swiss maestro in a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-3 win.
Indian cricket commentator took to Twitter expressing his thoughts on the epic semi-final clash between the tennis legends. “Looks like this match is done. Who knows what another year brings. Fear this might be the last of Federer at the Australian Open,” Bhogle tweeted.
Looks like this match is done. Who knows what another year brings. Fear this might be the last of Federer at the Australian Open.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 30, 2020
Coming back to the match, Djokovic will play either fifth seed Dominic Thiem or seventh-ranked German Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final, but it will take a monumental effort to prize another title from the 32-year-old.
Of the seven Melbourne finals Djokovic has made, he has won them all.
If any extra motivation was needed, winning on Sunday will see the Serb reclaim the number one ranking after Rafael Nadal was sent packing in the last eight.