TENNIS AO2015 – Novak Djokovic will play against Andy Murray in the Australian Open final on Sunday. The world number one took his revenge on Stan Wawrinka winning in five sets 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0. Bruno Bergareche Sans
AO2015: Interviews, Results, Order of Play, Draws
It was almost written in the stars that this match had to go to five sets. For the third year running Djokovic and Wawrinka crossed paths in Melbourne, and for the third year running five sets of up and down tennis had to be played to determine who would prevail.
The only difference this time round was that the final set wasn’t a nail biter. Much the opposite, it was the easiest set of the contest for Djokovic who handed Wawrinka a bagel along with a return ticket to Switzerland.
Djokovic packed the first punch of the encounter taking the first set on a tie break. The following sets of tennis followed the same pattern: constant breaks of serve and inconsistent tennis. This match undoubtedly won’t go down in history books of tennis for its quality. Wawrinka struck back in the second, winning the set 6-3. But the Swiss player’s body language never looked right; he didn’t seem to be raring to take on the challenge and, as sweet as his back hand is, constantly seemed to try and finish the point every time he played it, no matter what his court position was or the pace and depth of the ball coming towards him. The result of this was a number of thumping winners but also a mountain of unforced errors.
An exchange of breaks in the third set which looked Djokovic’s at one point, and then Wawrinka’s, finally fell the Serb’s way 6-4. The fourth started just like the third, with an early break for Novak. At two sets to one and a break up, you wouldn’t expect Djokovic to look back but inconsistency crept into his game all night long and not only did he lose his serve once but he lost it again towards the end of the set and, somehow, Wawrinka found himself going into a fifth set.
But that was the end of his battle. He handed in his Australian Open crown in the final set. Novak Djokovic who was more determined than brilliant booked his tickets for a fifth Australian Open final. All the while his opponent in Sunday’s showdown, Andy Murray, was sitting comfortably at home having already enjoyed 24 hours of rest watching Djokovic go the whole distance. Given Murray’s form, the Scot might well be the favourite heading into that clash, but Djokovic is vying for his fifth Australian Open title, which would make him only the second man, behind Roy Emerson, ever to take the title down under on five or more occasions. The scene is set for a mouth-watering final.
