World No. 2 and defending champion Novak Djokovic has beaten No. 3 ranked Roger Federer to reach his eight Australian Open final.
The Serbian Djokovic defeated the ailing Swiss Federer 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-3 in their semifinal match at the Australian Open. He will be facing the winner of the semifinal match between Austrian Dominic Thiem and German Alexander Zverev.
The health of Federer has been a topic of concern in the past two days of the tournament as he required a medical timeout for a groin issue during his comeback win against American Tennys Sandgren.
Djokovic said: "When I was on the court at the beginning, I was really paying too much attention on his movement, what he was really doing. I wasn't in the right balance. I wasn't hitting the ball. I wasn't executing the shots the way I wanted it.
"After clinching the first set, which was crucial, I think I relaxed more. Respect to Roger for coming out tonight. He was obviously hurt and wasn't close to his best in terms of movement," added Djokovic.
Meanwhile, Federer said: "I was playing with nothing to lose obviously. I was just trying to take big cuts at the ball, trying to keep the rallies to a minimal, make sure I keep him off guard, mix it up as much as I can. I think I returned really well in the beginning and got some really good connections going."
He pointed out: "Unfortunately I was not able to serve it out. To be honest, I feel like I should have found a way to do that, but wasn't able to. We know how tough he is, especially when you give him too many second serves. Obviously he was better on the day today, there's no question."
If the Serbian wins the tournament, it will be his 17th grand slam title, which would pull him to within two of Nadal and three of Federer.
