Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka faced off in an all-Swiss Australian Open semifinal match, and Federer continued to extend his excellent head-to-head record over his compatriot as he had to battle through five sets and reach the final here for the first time since 2010.
It was a match of momentum swings as Federer strolled through the first two sets before Wawrinka made a spirited comeback to level the match at two sets all. Nevertheless, Federer maintained his composure and eventually closed out the match in the deciding set.
Federer clinches tight first set
Excellent serving from Federer saw him sail through his opening service game of the match comfortably to begin the match with, but Wawrinka did the same as he also held his serve in comfortable fashion to give a tight start to the match. The 17-time grand slam champion almost landed himself in deep trouble in the following game but he managed to get his serve working well at the crucial moments, serving an ace at 30-30 which earned him game point.
A volley winner eventually gave Federer the service hold which allowed him to let the set remain on serve. Some excellent offensive tennis by Federer then gave him triple break points in Wawrinka’s service game but he was pegged back by his younger compatriot as Wawrinka started to find his first serves and started to utilize them effectively. Surviving this close ordeal, the three-time grand slam champion managed to stay on serve in the set. The inconsistencies in both player’s service game started to surface as it was Wawrinka’s turn to earn break points after Federer’s forehands looked a little wobbly.
Maintaining his composure, Federer eventually held his serve once more and prevented Wawrinka from making the first breakthrough of the match. With both players looking solid on their serves from then on, the set was extended to an 11th game and that was when Wawrinka once again earned a break point, but Federer saved it on his way to holding serve for the final time in the set. With Federer just being a game away from winning the first set, Wawrinka crumbled to the pressure and the crowd, who was mainly cheering for Federer, being broken in the last game of the first set to gift Federer the advantage after 50 minutes.
Federer extends his lead
It was all positive for Federer as he capped off a perfect start to the second set with an ace on game point to seal up the service hold comfortably. Despite going up 15-30 in his next return game, Wawrinka failed to take advantage of the scoreline as Federer started to play some clinical serve and volley tennis, and it proved to be effective as he held serve to prevent himself from lagging behind in the scoreboard.
Wawrinka would definitely rue the missed opportunity as he was broken in the sixth game after Federer’s forehand started to look greater than ever. Consolidating the break of serve, Federer looked poised to earn a bigger lead as he was just one game away from winning the second set. He successfully served out the set 6-3 after he played some world-class offensive tennis, putting himself closer to a victory.
Wawrinka fights back
It was the typical exchange of service holds to start the third set with, but it was Wawrinka who unexpectedly made the first breakthrough in the third set as he broke serve for the first time ever in the match earning a 3-1 lead in the process after Federer played a really sloppy game.
Wawrinka continued his amazing run and looked poised to get one of the sets back as he broke once more with the momentum running in him, getting a big 5-1 lead as Federer failed to regain the rhythm on his forehand. Not disappointing his fans, Wawrinka closed out the set by a dominant scoreline of 6-1 after serving it out to love as Federer looked out-of-sorts during that game.
Wawrinka levels the match
Wawrinka started the fourth set on a high note as he made the best possible start to the set by breaking Federer’s serve on an excellent backhand crosscourt return winner on break point to take the early advantage. Unexpectedly, Federer made an immediate reply as he broke straight back to level the set after Wawrinka made some unnecessary unforced errors at the crucial moments to gift the break away.
The next real chance for a break of service was when Federer got to deuce on Wawrinka’s serve but failed to find a break point opportunity, thus giving Wawrinka a nervy service hold to just keep himself in the match. Some strong forehands then gave Wawrinka a great chance to break serve as he earned triple break points to have a chance to serve out the fourth set.
The 2016 US Open champion almost threw away those opportunities but managed to convert his third break point to get the long-awaited break of service. Similar to the third set, Wawrinka served out the set to love and got back level at two sets all after 2 hours and 25 minutes.
Wawrinka wastes opportunities
After comfortable holds to start the match with, Wawrinka almost got the lead when he earned a break point opportunity in the third game with some strong backhands. Federer used his strong serve to help him get back to deuce and eventually closed out the service game to remain on serve.
Wawrinka was once again able to get a break point on Federer’s serve in his following return game as Federer failed to find his first serves consistently but wasted it after a backhand unforced error. That miss would prove costly as Wawrinka threw in a double fault on break point in the next game to allow Federer to take the first break of the final set and look favorite for the victory.
Consolidating the break of serve, Federer further affirmed his lead in the scoreboard as he earned yet another service hold to edge closer to a place in the final. Despite Wawrinka successfully taking his service game to stay in the match, it proved to be just a consolation game as Federer served out the match to love to clinch the match in five sets after 3 hours and 5 minutes.
Next up for Federer: Final
A task seemed so difficult and impossible was done by Federer. Reaching the final in a grand slam tournament beating three top 10 players along the way, despite being his first official tournament since July 2016. He would either face Rafael Nadal, which would definitely be an epic thriller, or Grigor Dimitrov, nicknamed “Baby Fed” as he models his game after Federer himself.