Roger Federer is just one match away from winning an unprecedented 18th Grand Slam title after beating Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka in five sets to reach the Australian Open final.
Federer, who hadn’t played a competitive match for 6 months before this event, has now defeated three top ten players to reach his sixth final in Melbourne, where he will meet either Rafael Nadal or Grigor Dimitrov.
There’s no doubt that a Federer v Nadal final is the match tennis fans across the globe would love to see, reigniting their rivalry which produced so many epic and memorable matches.
Wawrinka, the champion here in 2014, almost ended that fantasy here, as he valiantly recovered from two sets down against his fellow countryman, eventually going down 7-5 6-3 1-6 4-6 6-3 in a topsy-turvy affair.
A match of two halves
For two sets Federer dominated proceedings, moving immaculately from the baseline to diffuse Wawrinka’s immense power and foraying to the net at every opportunity.
At the end of the second set Wawrinka was forced to leave the court for a medical time out and when he returned his left knee was heavily strapped.
Astonishingly, the delay turned the match in Wawrinka’s favour, and he hit the ball with more intent and clarity once it was clear he was carrying an injury.
After coming back from two sets down, Wawrinka had the momentum and the confidence in the decider, yet it was Federer who eventually prevailed in three hour and four minutes.
Federer delighted to reach the final
"I couldn't be happier right now," said Federer in his on-court interview after the match. "I felt like everything happened so quickly at the end, I had to check the score.
"I never ever in my wildest dreams thought I'd come this far in Australia. It's beautiful, I'm so happy."
Federer also left the court for an injury timeout at the end of the fourth set to receive treatment on a leg injury.
"I have had a leg thing going on for a week and felt it from the second game on in the match," said the Swiss
"I never take injury timeouts. Stan took his, so I thought people won't be mad - Stan won't be mad hopefully.”
Before the match Wawrinka had never beaten Federer on a hard court after 13 meetings on the surface.
Both saved break points in the early stages of the opening set, however it was Wawrinka who surrendered his serve first at 5-6.
It handed Federer the set and the momentum, and it wasn’t long before the 17-time major champion broke serve again at the start of second set.
It caused Wawrinka to snap his racquet in frustration, after he overcooked a couple of makeable forehands.
Federer continued to serve impeccably, holding to 0 when asked to serve for the second set.
Wawrinka rallies until the end
Wawrinka’s timeout significantly changed the dynamics of the match, and when he returned to the court he managed to take Federer’s time away with his heavy ball striking.
It prevented Federer from venturing to the net and he abruptly lost his serve three times in a row, conceding the third set before falling a break behind in the fourth.
Wawrinka earned break point opportunities at the start of the decider but couldn’t convert them.
Federer was less forgiving, as he went on to book his place in Sunday’s final.