#AO2020: Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer in straight sets to book his 8th Australian Open final

Novak Djokovic, the defending champion beats Roger Federer in straight sets 7-6 6-4 6-3, to enter his eighth Australian Open final.

World second-seeded Djokovic has won seven Australian titles and has never lost a semifinal match or final at Melbourne Park, but tonight he seemed to be under pressure early from six-time champion Federer.

He now stands one win away from capturing an eighth Australian Open crown, which will take him back to No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Federer had a chance to serve for the first set at 5-4 but Djokovic broke him at love and dominated the tiebreaker.

Then Djokovic broke Federer in the last game of the second set clinching it 6-4.

Federer, Word 3rd seeded and 20-time major champion took a brief medical timeout after Djokovic won the first set 7-6 (1).

After winning the semifinal, in an on-court interview, Djokovic told former World No. 1 and two-time former Australian Open winner, Jim Courier, “It could have definitely gone a different way if he’d used those breakpoints.

“He got off to a good start and I was pretty nervous at the beginning”.

“I have to say I respect Roger for coming out tonight. He was obviously hurt and not close to his best in terms of movement. It wasn’t the right mindset at the beginning, because I was watching him and how he was moving early on, rather than executing my own shots. I managed to dig my way back and win the first set, which was obviously mentally important.”

With this win, 32-year-old Djokovic has extended his winning streak in 2020 to 12-0 and will now prepare for Sunday’s final, where he’ll face fifth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem or seventh seed Alexander Zverev of Germany.

Djokovic leads Thiem 6-4 in the ATP Head2Head series and has a 3-2 advantage over Zverev.