Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic (R) shakes hands with Swiss opponent Roger Federer after their mens semi-final singles match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, 25 January 2008. Djokovic won 7-5.6-3.7-6
THE tennis world has been yearning for someone to challenge Roger Federer's record-breaking domination and Novak Djokovic is being touted as the one in today's Australian Open semi-final.
The peerless Swiss rules his contemporaries like no other. He secured the No 1 ranking for an unprecedented 209th week after sweeping into a record 15th consecutive grand slam semi-final.
Federer is approaching the all-time grand slam record of 14 titles held by Pete Sampras and if he wins here it will be his 13th major.
But all eras must end eventually.
Some believe there are signs that Federer's grip on men's tennis is loosening and the 20-year-old Serb may be the one to inflict his first defeat in a hardcourt grand slam in three years.
Djokovic hasn't dropped a set in reaching his showdown with Federer for his fourth consecutive grand slam semi-final appearance.
The third seed gave promise of things to come when he diced with Federer at last year's US Open final, squandering seven set points only to lose two tiebreakers on the way to a straight sets loss.
Djokovic did beat Federer in the ATP Masters Series final in Montreal last year and trails 5-1 overall in their matches.
The confident youngster has talked up his chances of preventing Federer from carrying off his fourth Australian crown, especially after compatriot Janko Tipsarevic took the top seed to 10-8 in the fifth in a third round fright.
"I'm feeling really, really good at the moment, physically and mentally," said Djokovic.
"I'm showing all my strength and I've made some changes. I have been working on my skills in the past couple weeks. I'm playing with a lot of confidence."
Federer has seen it all before and says he is not put out by Djokovic's confidence.
"It's like reliving this whole thing, but this is the way you're supposed to think out there," he said.
"You are not coming here to lose in the first round. You're coming here to do well and then win the tournament if you're one of the top 10 guys.
"That's reality. That's nothing new. That's not cocky. That's confidence. That's just a normal tennis player." - AFP
posted by Abu71 @ 8:01 AM,
