Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have taken the appointed place in the Semi-Finals of Australian Open 2011. Who will advance to the Finals. Well, it will be the one who plays well on the day or rather whoever plays better on the few important points. The past performance could be an indicator only if both play their best game.
In the head to head between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, it is 4-2 in Federer’s favour in the grand slam tournaments on hard courts. In the past Djokovic was the sick man from Europe who would retire mid way. Roger Federer has perhaps never retired for any reason whatever. But Djokovic appears to have overcome his health problems. He has not shed much sweat too during the matches so far in this tournament. Both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have good balance of offence and defence. Federer loves to dictate the tempo of the game. He is the one who goes on the offensive first. Djokovic tends to play defensive first and at the appropriate point converts defence into offence. Roger Federer has advantage on serve. His first serve placement is so good that he is able to get free points on serve. He also has the capacity to rescue himself from the break points by serving an ace or an unreturnable serve. Even when the serve is returned, he steps into the court and hits a winner straight away or on the fifth shot of the rally. It is only when facing a retriever like Rafael Nadal that he has to get into longer rallies and there his advantage gets nullified. Djokovic has to play at 110% to have a chance to upset Federer. He has to go on the offensive with very hard strikes to the corners so as to take time away from Federer. In such situations, Federer tends to shank balls or is forced to commit errors. Djokovic has a solid back hand and is able to hit hard down the line in the ad court. Federer also hits similar winners from the ad court but his top spin single fisted back hand down the line is not that consistent. Both Federer and Djokovic move very well and while Federer can hit winners on a running shot, Djokovic can hit hard returns on the run with or without placements. In innovativeness, Federer has no peer. He can suddenly decide to become serve and volleyer with great success as a changed strategy. He can rush to the net with a good approach shot to surprise the opponent. His inside out shots come with a lot of surprise and pace. His anticipation and speed on court is without parallel. The opponent is forced to play at the fastest pace, which only few are able to cope with. But Djokovic is not afraid of Federer now. He can step into the court with a genuine belief that he can win. He does not change his game much during the match, but he can change the level of his game and the balance of defence and attack. Djokovic loves the ball in the striking zone, but gets out of rhythm when the ball keeps low. Federer’s change of pace and spin sometimes throws many an opponent out of gear. Federer’s game climbs up the ladder when he is leading. He previously had no problems in closing out the matches, but in recent times, some of the high profile matches went against him after he had match points. He still has few peers in closing the door shut on trailing opponents. This comes from his mental strength and serve prowess. Djokovic successes against him have come when he shed away his caution and started going for shots. All those who have attacked Federer have been able to turn the tables, but few defenders could withstand the onslaught. Andy Murray has not had success against him in Grand Slams since he finds all out attack alien to his game plan. A defensive Djokovic will have little chances against a rampaging Federer. He has to meet fire with fire. The first set is almost likely to go the Federer way. If Djokovic is able to take Federer to the distance, he has a good chance of victory since in recent times, Federer has had difficulty keeping focus for five sets. If Federer were to win, it could be easy or difficult win in three or four sets. If Djokovic were to win, it will be a hard fought win, most likely in five sets. 
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