Top seed, Novak Djokovic will play Andy Murray in the final of the Australian Open after topping five-setter semi-finals against Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka at Rod Laver Arena on Friday.
Serbia’s Djokovic outlasted the defending champion 7-6(1) 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0 to secure his 49th match win in Melbourne Park. The win also sees him maintain a nine-match winning streak against top 10 opponents.
“We pushed each other to the limits. I made my life very complicated. The 1st game of the 5th set was a crucial turning point,” the 27-year-old said in his on-court interview.
Novak Djokovic Reaches a Record-Equaling 5th Australian Open Final. Image: Tennis Australia.
Djokovic is now 17-3 in career head-to-head record against the 29-year-old and 16-1 since 2007- his only loss in the last eight years coming in last year’s quarter-final defeat, which ended 6-4 in the fifth set.
Only Roger Federer (75-1 2) and Stefan Edberg (56-10) have more wins at the first Grand Slam of the year in the Open Era. The world number one is also now two matches shy of 400 hard-court wins and a match short of his fifth title in the hard court major.
He will play No. 6 seed Andy Murray in the final on Sunday in his 15th majors final overall. He holds a 4-0 record in title matches in Melbourne Park. Murray is hoping to be fourth time lucky after finishing as runners-up on three previous occasions.
“Andy and I go back to when we were 12 years old. That’s the 1st time we played. It’s nice we’re playing another Slam final,” Djokovic said on showdown with the Scot.
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