Australian Open 2016: Djokovic Nails Federer To Qualify For Final

One game -- that's how long it took for all the buzz surrounding the 45th rendition of Federer-Djokovic to completely disappear. That's how ridiculously good No. 1 Novak Djokovic was from the start of his Australian Open semifinal match against No. 3 Roger Federer.

In the early going, Federer simply had no answers for Djokovic's overpowering groundstrokes, dropping the first two sets in less than an hour. Federer battled back to win the third set and get back into the match, but Djokovic dismissed that challenge. Eventually, Djokovic secured a 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win, booking his spot in the finals -- his sixth appearance -- which will give him a chance to secure Grand Slam No. 11. Djokovic will battle either No. 2 Andy Murray or No. 13 Milos Raonic.


Meanwhile, the result extends Federer's Grand Slam drought. He hasn't won a major tournament since 2012. Oh, and Djokovic now boasts a winning record against Federer for the first time ever, gaining a 23-22 advantage.

After Federer's disastrous first set, in which he won just 11 total points and lasted just 22 minutes, he briefly fought back. In the opening game of the second set, he fended off a break point to stay on serve, shouting to himself after capturing the game.

But Djokovic was too good, breaking Federer twice and making it look easy. Djokovic won the second set, though it took him an extra 10 minutes compared to the first set (32 minutes in total) and he dropped two -- not one -- games in the process.

Right before Federer served to start the third set, the crowd urged him on, eager for him to comeback or at least make the match competitive. And, after winning an early point, Federer let a "C'mon!" escape his mouth.

But Federer, while at least keeping pace with Djokovic, couldn't break ahead and his frustration mounted.

In the sixth game, Federer finally struck, landing his first two chances to break Djokovic with a fantastic volley, prompting a roar from the crowd. A few seconds later, those chances disappeared with an overpowering Djokovic serve and a sloppy unforced error from Federer. He failed again on his third break chance, but kept his hopes alive by fending off a game point. Finally, on his fourth chance, Federer seized the break and jumped ahead, 4-2, much to the delight of the crowd, which rewarded Federer with a standing ovation.

He was alive -- barely, but alive nonetheless. He took advantage of the opportunity, taking the third set.

But whatever momentum Federer acquired disappeared after the third set, when tournament officials decided to close the roof of Rod Laver Arena and delayed the match for 10 minutes.

Federer and Djokovic split the first six games of the fourth set, and this time it was Djokovic's time to show his frustration.

Moments later, Djokovic ended the match and Federer's comeback bid. For as dominant as Djokovic was during the first two sets, his performance to clinch the match was equally impressive. Because for a moment, Federer appeared to have an opportunity to push the match to a final set.

Instead, Djokovic pushed aside Federer and secured his place in the final match of the year's first Grand Slam, where he will go for a record-tying sixth Australian Open title.