the no. The No. 1 players in the men’s and women’s games, respectively, were in action on Day 11 at the Australian Open and neither disappointed as each came within a win of another grand slam title.
novak djokovic defeated world no. 3 Roger Federer in a four-set thriller, while Serena Williams needed only two sets to reduce the No. 4 agnieszka radwanska to reach the final. she will face no. 7 Angelique Kerber with the championship on the line, as the German defeated Johanna Konta in the semifinals.
With three of the final four spots in the men’s and women’s draws now accounted for, here’s a full list of the main results from Thursday’s game, as well as a breakdown of how each match played out.
men’s individual results of day 11
women’s individual results of day 11
djokovic beats federer
djokovic and federer reached the semifinals on even terms with a 22-22 career record against each other, but it was djoker who took the lead on thursday by virtue of his 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6- 3 win.
The Serb had survived a five-set marathon with Gilles Simon two rounds earlier, showing some vulnerability, but quickly dropped him in the semis by winning the first two sets in under an hour combined.
According to the official Australian Open twitter account, Nole couldn’t have been much happier with his performance going into the match:
Getting up early at fed was a big key for djokovic, especially given his remarkable record in grand slams by winning the first two sets, according to statistics from espn & amp; information:
ever champion, federer managed to fight back taking the third set, but was once again overwhelmed in the fourth, as djokovic’s serve was in top form.
In addition to his 10 aces, djoker won 77% of his first serve points and 67% of his second serve points, while federer won just 61% and 49%, respectively.
djokovic also converted five of his nine break chances, while federer broke nole only one, which was perhaps the biggest difference in the match.
there is no doubt that djokovic showed that simon’s duel is behind him, and that does not bode well for his final opponent.
the world no. 1 will meet the winner of the other semi-final between world no. 2 andy murray and no. 13 milos raonic—both will be pretty losers.
Djokovic is a five-time Australian Open champion and has now reached the final in five consecutive grand slams. he is on a remarkable streak that few others in tennis history have experienced, and that should be enough to carry him to another title, regardless of who opposes him.
williams dominates radwanska
williams is now just one win away from tying steffi graf for 22 career grand slam titles after defeating radwanska in the semifinals 6-0, 6-4.
She wasted no time putting her Polish opponent on her heels on Day 11, as she took the first set in just 20 minutes.
radwanska showed some signs of life in the second set, with the score 4-4 at one point, but williams broke the world no. the 4 seed serve and then served the match herself to bring the matchup to its conclusion in just over an hour.
according to williams, going back to what worked in the first set is ultimately what allowed him to take down radwanska in the second:
There were a lot of question marks surrounding Williams’ entry into the Australian Open, even though he won the first three majors of 2015 and reached the semi-finals at the U.S. Open. open.
She took four months off before the tournament, but apparently it hasn’t had any kind of negative impact on her, as she hasn’t dropped a set yet.
Her mastery has surprised some, and that includes even herself:
Now that it’s abundantly clear that Williams is in top form, it’s extremely hard to imagine him missing out on his seventh career Australian Open title.
she dominated radwanska in all facets, with 42 winners against only 17 unforced errors, 88% of her points in net wins and five breaks of her opponent’s serve in six attempts.
There isn’t a player in the world who can beat Williams when she plays at that level, which means she must focus solely on herself as she strives to win her fifth grand slam title in her last six attempts.
kerber kills konta
In a women’s semi-final that few could have expected entering the tournament, Kerber showed equal parts grit and quality to defeat Konta 7-5, 6-2.
The seventh-seeded German jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set by virtue of two breaks, but quickly squandered that advantage. She however, managed to fight back and, after winning the first set, the rest of the match was hers.
while kerber only had 14 game winners, his unforced error total was even lower at 11. he was also greatly helped by what turned out to be a nervous performance from konta, who made 36 unforced errors in total.
kerber’s ability to track balls and stay on points propelled her to victory, and now she has little to lose going up against williams.
according to the official twitter account of the australian open, kerber apparently feels confident with her form and position in the women’s game ahead of the final:
she also hopes to see the best version of williams since no. 1 player in the world rarely overlooks opponents, regardless of the circumstances, according to wta insiders:
Just reaching the final is a huge step forward for Kerber, as the 28-year-old has been inside the top 10 for so long without reaching this point in a grand slam event.
She now has a certain amount of pressure on her shoulders, and she has the advantage of being a big loser, which means all expectations are on Williams.
williams handles that kind of situation better than anyone, but it gives kerber every reason to be aggressive and press the issue against the no. 1 player in the world.
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