Federer v Djokovic - As It Happened

Djokovic beats Federer 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) And Djokovic does it! It was another fierce serve from Federer, powered across Djokovic's face, but the Serb hasn't let many opportunities pass him by in this match, and he wasn't going to with this one. Lunging at full stretch he managed to just about get the ball back over, drew Federer into a rally and then waited for the world No1 to drive the ball into the net for his 32nd unforced error of the match. Actually the official stats show Djokovic had just as many, but, crucially, he also had 50 winners to Federer's 38. Unbelievably, considering who he's just faced, Djokovic will enter the final of the 2008 Australian Open having not dropped a single set. Thanks for all your emails - like London buses I waited all day for one, and then 72 came along at once, so sorry I couldn't use more. I'll see you all again on Sunday morning for the final.

Third set tie-break Djokovic* 6-5 Federer Yet another unreturnable serve from Djokovic, then a sliced backhand from Federer that goes long, give Djokovic match point.

Third set tie-break Djokovic 4-5 Federer* A 10th ace for Federer, followed by another belting serve that Djokovic could barely return, allowing Federer to kill the point with ease.

Third set tie-break Djokovic* 4-3 Federer Federer plays a looping topspin forehand a good way long after a brief rally, to make it 3-3 at the changeover. Djokovic then goes down the middle again to give himself the advantage.

Third set tie-break Djokovic 2-3 Federer* A huge rally on the first point which Federer wins with a perfect one-handed backhand pounced right to the baseline. But Federer plays a forehand into the tramlines on the second point and Djokovic has the mini-break back.

Third set tie-break Djokovic* 1-2 Federer Federer takes the first mini-break as Djokovic nets a backhand to make it 0-2. The Serb responds with an unreturnable serve down the centre.

Third set tie-break Djokovic 0-1 Federer* An ace gives Federer the first point.

Third set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 6-3, 6-6 Well Federer has certainly woken up. Rog absolutely dominates the first game, pinning Djokovic to the baseline, rushing the net and powering home a forehand to make it 0-15. On the next point Djokovic nets his backhand, but it's the serve that pulls him out again on the next point to make it 15-30. Then it's Federer's turn to make the mistake, failing to clear the net as he gets just a little bit too casual as he exchanges forehands with Djokovic. On the next point, though, Djokovic plays long again to give Federer set point at 30-40. 4,200 bounces of the ball later, though, Djokovic slams his serve in hard and wide and Federer can't return it. Djokovic saves another set point with a cross-court winner from just inside the baseline, brings up advantage with his 13th ace, and then finally the game with a dinked volley.

Third set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 6-3, 5-6 Djokovic almost looks like he's been letting Federer have his way on service up to this point in the set - conserving his energy perhaps to make a push at the end. He tries to make that push here, suddenly adding some fire to his ground strokes that wasn't there a few seconds ago and bringing up 30-30. It only serves to wake Federer up though, and two vicious passing shots later, Djokovic will be serving to stay in the set.

Third set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 6-3, 5-5 Mr McDevitt's just emailed me again to point out the similarities between Djokovic and a certain Ivan Lendl. "Hits the ball hard as (naughty word) and makes very few mistakes," he muses. I can see your point Mike, but I'm not sure Lendl was quite this light on his feet. Another routine service game for Djokovic goes to 15.

Third set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 6-3, 4-5 "A bit early to be talking about a changing of the guard perhaps, but could this be the year in which Federe and Rafa don't have it all their own way," muses Mike McDevitt. "None to soon, I say." Well, I'd say if Federer loses here it already is the year when they don't have it all their own way - even if they go on to divvy up all the rest of the grand slams. There's certainly no reason Djokovic can't begin to crash that group though, he's shown he's good enough before and today is just a confirmation, not a revelation. Whether or not anyone else is quite on that level - on a consistent basis - I'm not sure. Federer holds to 15.

Third set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 6-3, 4-4 Already this set looks like it could be going to what would be a fascinating tie-breaker. Both players are holding serve without any trouble at the moment. Federer's only point comes from a double fault.

Third set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 6-3, 3-4 Federer is still nowhere near his best, but he is beginning to dominate his service games. It looked like this one was going to love again, before a Djokovic forehand clips the net cord and drops just over, but even though Djokovic claims another point with a smash after a long rally, Federer never looked in danger of letting it slip.

Third set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 6-3, 3-3 Apologies - I missed the beginning of that game doing some retrospective tweaking after Marian Counihan pointed out that I still had 'second set' at the beginning of all my entries for this set. Djokovic is looking sloppy again here though, double faulting, sending a backhand long and then netting as he lets his opponent back in from 40-0 to reach deuce. An unreturnable serve, however, followed by a sliced backhand from Federer that sails comfortably long, gives him the game.

Third set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 6-3, 2-3 Well we haven't seen that in a while - Federer holds to love in double-quick time.

Third set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 6-3, 2-2 "Apparently nobody is emailing in and if I do I will get published," says Sam in Vauxhall, astutely picking up on my current predicament. "To contribute then, Federer looks in trouble but he will probably win." Inspired, but for the record I'm not sure I agree Djokovic is very much in position to win this, though I do suspect that if he doesn't do it this set, he won't do it at all. For now he holds to love.

Third set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 6-3, 1-2 That's 24 unforced errors from Federer now, and to be honest it feels like a lot more. From 15-15 Federer volleys long and then finds the middle of the net to bring up 15-40. Once again leaning on his serve to dig him out of a hole, Federer brings the game to deuce, but then gives up the advantage after misjudging a floated Djokovic forehand that flew over him half-way up the court, and landed just in. He rescues the break point though, before each player wastes another advantage, then finally holds at the second attempt after Djokovic can only barely clip a vicious flat serve down the middle with his frame.

Third set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 6-3, 1-1 Dearie me - Federer might be out of sorts, but you really can't afford to take your foot off the pedal like this if you're Novak Djokovic right now. Federer was just beginning to have some moments at the end of the last set, and now Djokovic hands him a 0-40 advantage with some lazy ground strokes and two unforced errors. He claws it back though - two more aces and a couple of wild backhands from Federer helping out as Djokovic takes five points on the bounce to save the game.

Third set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 6-3, 0-1 "I recall Marat Safin blowing Pete Sampras off the court in straight sets to win the US Open in 2000," chips in Gary Naylor, currently sans TV. "It was a bit painful to watch. Federer isn't getting that kind of treatment is he?" I've got to be honest here Gary and admit I never saw the game in question, but so far Djokovic has dominated this game without really even looking at his own best, which is sad on a level, just because we so expect to see Federer playing better tennis than he has. There have been glimmers from the World No1, but never more than that. Still, he holds serve to 30 to open the set.

Third set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 6-3 Both faces of Federer today summed up in the opening two points of this game. First he passes Djokovic with textbook topspin forehand, when his opponent was well positioned on the baseline. Then, on the next point he drives a backhand into the net as he attempts to go cross-court from just inside the service box. Federer saves Djokovic's first set point at 40-30, but Djokovic, after receiving an official warning for taking too long between points, slams in an unreturnable serve to Federer's backhand, then an ace on the next point. You certainly can't accuse him of not taking his chances today.

Second set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 5-3 Maybe, just maybe Federer still has a shot in this set. Djokovic looks to lost his composure a touch, making a couple of unforced errors of his own as Federer takes the game to 30.

Second set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 5-2 The hugely partisan crowd inside the Rod Laver Arena roars its approval as Djokovic nets a forehand to bring up 15-40. Djokovic wrong-foots Federer - who just seems to naturally lean towards his backhand on the baseline, such is the preference of his opponents to making him play on it - with a two-handed passing backhand on the next point, before a successful challenge saves him on the next after it looked like he might have played the ball long. Another backhand to the baseline causes Federer to net and bring up deuce, but this time it's Djokovic who makes the error as he skews a shot into the tramlines, and Rog makes no mistake on the next point, slicing a glorious backhand past Djokovic as he rushes the net. Could that be a momentum turner?

Second set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 5-1 Federer can only stand and watch as Djokovic dismisses his first serve of the game with an almost arrogant cross-court backhand and after a passing forehand from Djokovic and yet another unforced error from Federer, it's 15-40. On break point Djokovic controls the pace, exchanging cross-court forehands with Federer's backhand, before suddenly upping the speed with a vicious half-court shot to which Federer has no answer. Unbelievably, this is threatening to turn into a rout.

Second set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 4-1 It's not often you get to say this, but Federer is in serious trouble here. I don't have the unforced errors statistics to hand, but Federer was at 18 a few seconds ago, and I've counted at least three more since that point. Despite one double-fault, Djokovic holds to 30.

Second set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 3-1 He may not have the sheer muscle mass of a Nadal or a Tsonga, but it was perhaps unfair of me to say Djokovic lacked their athletcism earlier. He's so quick on his feet as he moves about the court, and Federer it's something Federer is genuinely struggling to deal with. Knowing that Djokovic has dug out passing shots from impossible positions more than once in this game, Federer is playing the ball closer and closer to the baseline and twice he overplays such shots on the way to 30-40. He pulls it back with a glorious smash to end a long rally, but after netting the ball on deuce, he once again sees Djokovic pull out the impossible to break his serve. Having attacked the net Federer looked to have put the ball out of reach with a dabbed volley that barely fell inside the line half-way up the service box, but Djokovic, running in from the baseline, summons up an incredible passing shot at full-stretch on his backhand.

Second set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 2-1 Up 40-0, Djokovic almost pulls off a glorious through the legs lob after getting caught in no-mans-land in the middle of the court. Federer dismisses that attempt with a trademark smash, but Djokovic holds to 30 with another ace.

Second set: Djokovic leads Federer* 7-5, 1-1 On one level that game was just the tonic for Federer - another ace and yet more unreturnable serves meaning he only dropped a single point, but what a shot it was on that point from Djokovic. Forced to react impossibly quickly to Federer's slice backhand, Djokovic barely reached the ball as it bounced barely inside his half of the court, and yet was able to dig out a perfect passing backhand down the line.

Second set: Djokovic* leads Federer 7-5, 1-0 Djokovic has his tail up and despite not sending in anything like his best serves, he holds to 15 after dominating the rallies. Interestingly he's been completely unafraid to work Federer's forehand so far.

First set: Federer* 5-7 Djokovic Well, we talked at the beginning about the set points Djokovic blew against Federer in the US Open final last year, but this time Djokovic makes no such slip - taking the set at the first opportunity. To be fair that owed much to Federer - who had overplayed a passing backhand with Djokovic to bring up 30-40, and did the same again with his opponent at the baseline to give Djokovic the game. Well, well, well - we have a semi-final.

First set: Federer 5-6 Djokovic* It's always struck me with Djokovic that he's a very cerebral player - all that ball bouncing pre-serve smacks of Jonny Wilkinson-esque OCD, and my biggest fear for him is just that he begins to over think when he finds himself in good positions. Certainly he does seem to tighten up towards the end of important sets sometimes, and he finds himself 15-30 down again here on serve. An ace on the next point brings him back to the boil though, and successive Federer errors hand him the game.

First set: Federer* 5-5 Djokovic A rare unforced error from Federer, who whips his forehand into the middle of the net for 15-30, but Djokovic can't tame his first serve on the next point, bouncing his racket in frustration after looping the ball long. Still, Djokovic brings up 30-40 - dominating a rally before forcing Federer into an awkward backhand behind the baseline, which doesn't quite clear the net. On the next point Federer repeats the trick with a far more routine forehand, and we're back level.

First set: Federer 5-4 Djokovic* Another glorious shot from Federer to open the game - Djokovic looked to have given himself room to attack the net with a deep forehand, but Federer somehow drove it back across his opponent with an impossibly-angled backhand and Djokovic could only clip it with his outstretched racket as he charged in, slipping over and appearing to bang his wrist in the process. Once again, though, Djokovic picks up some important points with his first serve and eventually holds to 30.

First set: Federer* 5-3 Djokovic Federer's been playing most of his serves flat and down the line so far, but he opens this game with a vicious slice across Djokovic's face for an ace and 15-0. Djokovic is still holding his own though, and levels at 30-30 with a half-court forehand delivered with so much topspin it barely bounced. The game moves to deuce after a double fault from Federer, but Federer takes the game on his first advantage.

First set: Federer 4-3 Djokovic* I had to say it, didn't I - Federer dispatches an delicious one-handed backhand past Djokovic as he attacks the net for 0-15. To be fair Djokovic was asking for it - there wasn't nearly enough depth on his preceeding forehand to justify charging in the way he did, but still, what a shot. After dropping the next point for 0-30, Djokovic responds with consecutive unreturnable first seves, but then over hits a cross-court forehand to bring up 30-40. Federer then changes things up beautifully on - you guessed it - his backhand, using a patient slice from the baseline until Djokovic sends a forehand into the tramlines.

First set: Federer* 3-3 Djokovic By far the longest rally of the match to open the game, and it's Djokovic who claims it as Federer drives his backhand long. It's no secret that Djokovic needs to target that backhand to have any chance here - you could hardly call it bad, but in an otherwise impeccable arsenal, you have to find fault where you can. Federer comes roaring back, taking the next point with an emphatic smash, then holding to 15.

First set: Federer 2-3 Djokovic* And Djokovic holds to love. Potentially an important game for him - he looked a bit frustrated at blowing those break points, but clearly it didn't get to him too much.

First set: Federer* 2-2 Djokovic It's been an aggressive match so far - both players are attacking the ball early and looking to win points before they can get caught up in a rally. Such a strategy looks for a moment like it might cost Federer here - as he belts a forehand into the tramlines before netting a backhand on the way to 15-40. From there though, it all looks so routine for the world No1 - mixing up unreturnable serves with more patient baseline play that twice sees Djokovic send looping topspin backhands just long.

First set: Federer 1-2 Djokovic* Both of these two have such impressive first serves, and Djokovic needs his right now because Federer is attacking his second ruthlessly. Perhaps it's the knowledge of that fact that causes the Serb to double fault at 30-0, but despite letting his opponent in with a backhand into the net to bring up 40-30, Djokovic pulls out another big serve when he needs it to hold the game.

First set: Federer* 1-1 Djokovic Federer picks up the first unforced error of the game, dabbing his half-court drop shot into the net with Djokovic stuck well behind the baseline. No matter, he dominates every rally of the game on the way to holding to 15.

First set: Federer 0-1 Djokovic* First blood Djokovic, who serves hard and follows in before dispatching a tidy volley to the far right corner of the court for 15-0. Federer comes straight back, driving Djokovic's second serve so close to the left-hand tramline that Djokovic mistakenly leaves it, before whisking another topspin forehand past him for 15-30. Djokovic finally gets his first serve going after that though, taking the next three points without too much trouble.

What to expect Djokovic is playing some of the best tennis of his career right now, and Federer - top of the world rankings now for 209 weeks - is supposed to be 'vulnerable'. Federer was pushed all the way by Tipsarevic in the third round, while Djokovic has brushed aside everyone he's played -including fifth seed David Ferrer. Don't be fooled though - Rog raises his game as and when he needs to. Djokovic will need to be nothing short of perfect to even have a shot. After yesterday's brutal display of hitting, expect a slightly more technical match-up today - for all their huge serves, neither of these players boast the sheer athleticism of Tsonga and Nadal.

So many questions, so little time... to cobble together a coherent preamble. Can Roger Federer reach his 2,045th grand slam final in a row? Is Novak Djokovic - yet to drop a set so far in this year's tournament - going to be able to hold his nerve better than he did during his last match against Federer (at the US Open last year), where he lost in straight sets after having set points in both the first two sets? Why doesn't Djokovic use use Roger Federer's own serve against him? Most importantly, will Gary Naylor be the first person to send me an email?