Djokovic ousts Canada’s Raonic
No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia set up an Australian Open semifinal showdown with Roger Federer by beating Canada’s Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (1) on Tuesday night in Melbourne.
The seven-time Australian Open champion won 10 of 11 points at the net and saved both break points he faced against the No. 32 seed, improving his record against Raonic to 10-0.
Raonic fired 18 aces and 48 winners, but his 48 unforced errors dwarfed Djokovic’s total of 14 during the two-hour, 49-minute match.
Djokovic and Federer will meet for the 50th time. Djokovic holds a 26-23 edge in their series, including a 3-1 record in Melbourne. All three of those wins were in the semifinals.
“I have tremendous respect for Roger and everything he has achieved in the sport,” Djokovic said. “The matchups against Roger and Rafa (Nadal) are the reason I am the player that I am today..”
Earlier Tuesday, the 38-year-old Federer showed he still has some magic left.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion saved seven match points, all of them in the fourth set, and rallied for a 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8), 6-3 win over American Tennys Sandgren.
It was the second consecutive match in which Federer performed a great escape. The tournament’s third seed captured the last six points of a fifth-set tiebreaker against Australia’s John Millman to win 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8) on Sunday.
“I was incredibly luck today, tonight, I don’t even know what time it is,” Federer said in an on-court interview after topping Sandgren, who is ranked No. 100 in the world.
“I’m lucky to be here, and I might as well make the most of it.”
Sandgren, a 28-year-old Tennessee native, fell short in his bid to become the first American man to reach the Australian Open semifinals since Andy Roddick in 2009.
NO. 1 BARTY REACHES SEMIFINALS
Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian woman to reach the Australian Open semifinals in 36 years with a 7-6 (6), 6-2 win against Petra Kvitova.
The word No. 1 saved 10 of 12 break points against the seventh-seeded Czech. After winning the match in one hour and 44 minutes, Barty became the first homeland woman to make it to the final four in Australia since Wendy Turnbull in 1984.
It was the 23-year-old Barty’s 150th career main draw win, and her 100th career win on hard court.
Barty will face first-time Grand Slam semifinalist Sofia Kenin, the No. 14 seed. Barty could become the first Aussie to make the Australian Open final since Turnbull lost to Hana Mandlikova in 1980.
Barty has a 4-1 head-tohead record against Kenin.
The 21-year-old American ousted Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.