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Djokovic ends Federer’s Grand Slam streak

Nirmal Shekar

The 20-year old Serb takes on Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final

Melbourne: It is strange but nevertheless true that the real measure of greatness can be grasped only when it temporarily takes leave of its gifted master.

After taking the regal presence of Roger Federer for granted in Grand Slam finals for so long it is only when we fail to spot him at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night in the men’s singles final of the Australian Open that we might come to truly appreciate the enormity of what the great man has achieved — 10 successive Grand Slam finals in a row.

It was a success streak — arguably one of the greatest in the entire history of sport — that was brought to an end by a precocious 20-year old Serb, Novak Djokovic, in the semifinals on Friday amidst whispers that we may have witnessed the end of an era.

Handling pressure well

Playing the match of his life, and dealing with pressure situations like a seasoned veteran, Djokovic, seeded three, beat Federer 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(5) in two hours and 28 minutes to set up a title clash with the unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

This was the Swiss maestro’s first loss before the final of a Grand Slam event since the semifinals of the 2005 French Open and coincidentally it has come in this remarkable streak-snapping season down under — a week after the resurgent Indian cricket team ended Australia’s 16-Test winning streak at Perth.

While the comparison may flatter Ricky Ponting’s men rather than Federer, it has been suspected for over a week now that the great man may actually be human.

And, not surprisingly, it was the young man who sincerely believed that Federer was a member of our species, and a vulnerable one at that, who managed to bring off the coup.

“It is an incredible feeling. He is one of the greatest players this sport has had. I am very, very proud of myself,” said Djokovic after making his second straight Grand Slam final. “It is very difficult to play against such a dominant player. I am amazed with the way I coped with the pressure.”

As well as Djokovic played, as courageously as he faced adversity, it was Federer who let him believe that he could do all that on a night when he looked like a thespian who had forgotten his lines. The greasepaint was melting and it did not make a pretty picture.

Your correspondent’s mind went back to a lovely English summer afternoon at Wimbledon seven years ago. It was a fourth round match featuring the greatest grass court champion of all time and a 19-year-old Swiss.

The teenager served, volleyed and passed like a schoolboy living out his wildest fantasy.

That was Roger Federer announcing his arrival. And it wasn’t quite Pete Sampras announcing his departure — he went on to win another U.S. Open, just as Federer himself might have a few more majors left in him.

But what a capricious business sport is! The ever-turning wheel of sport seldom cares about reputations.

Too many errors

Federer started well, breaking to 4-3 in the first set but handed back the break like he seldom does, in the 10th game. There were far too many errors flying off his racquet and Djokovic broke the top seed again to win the set in the 12th game.

In the second, Djokovic raced to 5-1, failed to serve out the set on his first attempt but did so when he got a second chance.

Both players came through several tough situations in the third but it did look as if the champion would take it to a fourth when he had two setpoints in the 12th game. But the Serb fought his way through to a tiebreak and won the match on his very first matchpoint when a Federer forehand failed to clear the net.

“I have played better in my life. But you cannot play your best in every match,” said Federer.

THE RESULTS

(Prefix denotes seeding)

Men’s singles: Semifinal: 3-Novak Djokovic (Srb) bt 1-Roger Federer (Sui) 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(5).

Women’s doubles: Final: Alona & Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr) bt 12-Victoria Azarenka (Blr) & Shahar Peer (Isr) 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Mixed doubles: Semifinals: Sania Mirza & Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) bt 8-Nathalie Dechy (Fra) & Andy Ram (Isr) 6-4, 6-2; 5-Sun Tiantian (Chn) & Nenad Zimonjic (Srb) bt 3-Yan Zi (Chn) & Mark Knowles (Bah) 4-6, 7-5, 10-6 (tiebreak).

Boys singles: Semifinals: 10-Yang Tsung-hua (Tai) bt 4-Ryan Harrison (USA) 6-4, 7-6; 5-Bernard Tomic (Aus) bt 8-Yuki Bhambri (Ind) 6-0, 5-7, 6-1.

Girls: Semifinal: 14-Arantxa Rus (Ned) bt 11-Zhou Yi-Miao (Chn) 6-4, 6-0.

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