Australian Open Day 11 Preview: 45th Installment of Djokovic-Federer
The men’s singles and women’s singles semifinals will get underway today on the 11th day of the Australian Open in Melbourne, as well as the semifinals of the men’s doubles tournament. While there are a number of intriguing matchups on today’s slate, there is one match that stands out from the rest.
(1) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs. (3) Roger Federer (Switzerland)
The 45th installment of the Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer rivalry will be for a spot in the Australian Open final. The two have each won 22 of the 44 previous meetings between the two. Djokovic is the defending champion, and Federer hasn’t won a Grand Slam title since Wimbledon in 2012, but Federer still seems to be fresh at age 34. The two have traded wins through the last four, with the last two coming at last year’s ATP World Tour Finals. Djokovic beat Federer five times last year, all in the finals of tournaments (Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Indian Wells, Rome and ATP Finals), and this is the first time (besides the round-robin stage of the ATP World Tour Finals) since Shanghai in 2014 that the two are meeting in a match that’s not a final. The match doesn’t get underway until about 3:30 a.m. EST, but knowing these two, it could be a five-setter that will go until most of us here in the United States are waking up for work. The winner will draw a matchup with the winner of Milos Raonic and Andy Murray.
(1) Serena Williams (United States) vs. (4) Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
The first women’s semifinal up will be the world number one and defending champion Serena Williams taking on fourth-seed Agnieszka Radwanska, in a matchup of two players with contrasting styles. Serena is arguably the best server the women’s game has ever seen and is more powerful than any of her peers, while Radwanska is a defensive whizz who can conjure up just about any type of shot. Serena is 8-0 all-time against Radwanska, and the Pole will try to break that trend and reach the second Grand Slam final of her career.
(7) Angelique Kerber (Germany) vs. Johanna Konta (Great Britain)
Before this tournament, Great Britain’s Johanna Konta had never even played in the main draw of the Australian Open, and tonight, Konta, who was born in Sydney, Australia, will play for a spot in the tournament’s final. She will play left-handed Angelique Kerber, the seventh-seed from Germany, who handed Victoria Azarenka the first loss of the season in their quarterfinal last night. Kerber showed a lot of toughness to fight back from 2-5 down in the second set to beat Azarenka, but will face a player in Konta who knows about toughness. It will be the first ever meeting between the two, as each will try and reach the first Grand Slam final of their respective careers.
Men’s Doubles Semifinals
â–º(7) Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares vs. Adrian Mannarino & Lucas Pouille
â–º(16) Pablo Cuevas & Marcel Granollers vs. Daniel Nestor & Radek Stepanek
