Djokovic Outlasts Wawrinka to Reach Fifth Aussie Open Final

World number one and four-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic took advantage of 69 unforced errors from fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka, ousting the defending Australian Open champion 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 to advance into the final.

While Wawrinka had by far more unforced errors with 69, Djokovic had 49 of his own which kept this match swinging on a pendulum for much for the first four sets.

“There were parts of the match where I stepped in and played a game I needed to play, but parts of the match where I played too defensive and allowed him to dictate,” said Djokovic. “So, yeah, it was very emotional, very tense, as it always is against a top player in semifinals of a Grand Slam.

So the battle was great…in terms of fighting from both sides…but the level of performance was not where I wanted it to be.”

It is the fifth time Djokovic will be in the Melbourne final, and for the third time, he will play Andy Murray, who knocked off Tomas Berdych the day before.

The clash with Wawrinka was a puzzling one to figure out for both players as they exchanged sets through the first four.

After Djokovic won easily in a first-set tiebreak, the Swiss responded with an excellent second set. He hit three aces and really controlled play with his serve while also notching a break point on the only chance he got, and was able to even the match at one set a piece.

After the Serb raced out to a 3-0 advantage in the third set, Wawrinka broke back and consolidated it with a hold to bring the frame to 3-3. After an exchange of holds, Djokovic won another break point up 5-4 to close out the set and put Wawrinka on the brink of elimination.

The reigning champion would not go away quietly, though, and fought back in the fourth set. After Djokovic broke the Swiss and took a 2-0 advantage, Wawrinka broke right back and won six of the next eight games to force the match into a deciding fifth set.

 But it was Djokovic who rallied in the fifth and played clean tennis, committing just six unforced errors to Wawrinka’s 13. He broke the Swiss three times and forced him into a bagel, winning the final set 6-0 to win the five-setter in three and a half hours.

“It was a lot of running, a lot of fighting and that’s what won me the match tonight,” said Djokovic. “As it was the case last two years, we played five sets. I was ready for the battle. We pushed each other to the limit.”

Wawrinka had beaten Djokovic in the quarterfinals of his championship run last year, but was unable to find consistent form on Friday.

“I’m surprised we went five sets again, even if the last one was 10 minutes,” said Wawrinka. “Wehad some great battle here the last two years. Today was a strange match. He was there playing good enough to win and he deserved to win and play the final.”

So it is Djokovic who moves into his fifth Australian Open final and will play a familiar opponent in Murray. The Serb leads the all-time series 15-8.

“Andy and I go back to when we were 12 years old. We know each other for a long time,” said Djokovic. “It’s nice to see we’re playing another Grand Slam final against each other. We’ve played many, and hopefully we can come up with a big match for all of you guys.”