Tomas Berdych may have thought he had a shot at beating a weary Novak Djokovic, but he was rather abruptly put in his place as he fell to the Serbian world number one, 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-4. Djokovic looks to have put that epic match with Stanislas Wawrinka behind him and will now benefit from a three day rest before the final, assuming he wins this semi-final. David Ferrer squeaked into the semi-finals as Nicolas Almagro had the ultimate choke, blowing three shots at serving for the match as he eventually went down in a 4-6 4-6 7-5 7-6 6-2 loss. Credit to Ferrer for never giving up, but it was a shame for Almagro who should have bagged a first ever Grand Slam semi-final. That 12-0 head-to-head will no doubt have been circling in his head when he tried to serve it out.
The head-to-head does not make pretty reading for Ferrer; Djokovic has a 9-5 lead, but more significantly is that he has won 5 of their last 6 matches. In their most recent match, Djokovic won a 4 setter in the US Open semi-finals, only losing a set because Ferrer was less disturbed about playing in hurricane-like conditions. Ferrer has done really well to make the semi-finals, but I just cannot see him making the final unless Djokovic picks up an injury of some kind. Ferrer is ultra-solid, but Djokovic is too and does everything that bit better. I would really like to see Ferrer reach a Grand Slam final, but it would be an almighty shock...
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| Prediction - Novak Djokovic to beat David Ferrer in 3 sets |
Wow! First man in the Open era to win 3 Australian Open titles in a row? The good thing for Djokovic if Murray has a great shot he begins by clapping his racquet strings to show his appreciation. Well done & Congratulations!
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