Djokovic beats up Federer

TENNIS:WHILE A grand slam final without Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal requires no asterisk, it does lend itself to the growing suspicion that the next generation has arrived at the summit of world tennis sooner than was envisaged before this Australian Open. It did not take a leap in the dark a fortnight ago to suggest a Nadal-Federer clash was the most likely final. As it stands, we may wait some time to see them contest a title again.

Convention dictates that the hunting pack cannot salivate over the carcass in public – and any rush to indulge in obituary writing would be insultingly premature. Still, Novak Djokovic, in the heady moments after his comprehensive 7-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over Federer in the first semi-final yesterday, took no comfort from the absence of the two players widely regarded as the best of all time.

Andy Murray, the world number five, and the seventh seed, David Ferrer, who play the second semi-final today, represent significant threats of their own, Djokovic pointed out.

“They are two players who have been on top of men’s tennis for a couple years already,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter (Federer and Nadal are out).”

It may take the rest of us a while to adjust to this new perspective but, clearly, the players have already been contemplating regime change. It has been a tumultuous couple of days in the power shift of men’s tennis. Djokovic was devastating in beating up Federer in three sets and three hours to reach his fourth grand slam final, far more than Ferrer was when accounting for the stricken Nadal the night before.

Djokovic, Murray and Robin Soderling are at the head of the new charge; their challenge is to sustain it, and on the evidence of this tournament, they are well placed to do so. Federer, despite his protestations to the contrary last night, increasingly looks beatable.

He bridled, as he might, at suggestions that this was the beginning of the end of an era, or even the end of the beginning. But this is the first time since 2003 that he has gone four slams without winning one. He very nearly went out in the second round to Gilles Simon and, when the quality soared, his resistance dipped further.

Whatever the mood and form Djokovic is in, Murray will need to look somewhere near as good against Ferrer in the second semi-final today to reach his third slam final. “You would make Murray a slight favourite,” Djokovic said last night, “but Ferrer has been showing maybe his best tennis on hard-courts lately.”

Murray has been playing as well as at any time since he lost to Federer in the final last year – and he was brutal in overpowering Ferrer at the World Tour Finals in London in November. Here he has overcome a variety of styles the past fortnight and dropped just a single set, to the impressive young Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov on Wednesday. He said of Ferrer, whom he knows well: “He gets good depth on the ball, good penetration, and that’s why he had such a great match against Rafa. He took a lot of chances, which came off. He will chase everything down, so I’ll have to be patient and mix up my game.”

The man of the tournament so far, though, is Djokovic. “Novak was the better player tonight,” Federer conceded. “You’ve got to accept that and move on.”

But to where? He talks brightly of the future. The Swiss is fit and still only 29. He will not suddenly become an ordinary player. He may yet regain his number one ranking, although he has a mountainous task to displace Nadal. “It’s not the end in any way,” he said.

“It’s a start for many other tournaments after this. Sure, it’s disappointing and it hurts in the moment itself. I wish I could have won here again for the fifth time, but it wasn’t possible.”

For much of the match it was highly unlikely. Federer might have won the first set but resorted to passivity in the tie-break against an opponent who plainly was up for a fight. The second set was pivotal. Trailing 2-1 and 30-40 on Djokovic’s serve, Federer found inspiration in a stray feather that got entangled in the net. By the time it had been removed, Djokovic’s concentration strayed and Federer broke him, taking eight points in a row to go 5-2 up.

That ought to have sealed his comeback. A set all and anything was possible. But he could not do it. Djokovic steeled himself to the task, his hitting direct and frighteningly good. By the time he had recovered to take the set, Federer’s energy levels had plummeted. The third was intermittently competitive but Federer again could not capitalise on a break and Djokovic was too strong going to the line.

A couple of days before the start of the championship, Djokovic said this about Murray’s chances of winning a grand slam: “I want him to win, definitely, and the next chance he has I am sure he’s going to take.”

The Serbian world number three, now the odds-on favourite to win this title, knows that Murray’s next opportunity could arrive in the final against him on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.

Even a couple of days ago, Murray may have preferred Djokovic as an opponent; he will not say, but it would not surprise if he imagined a more straightforward route to his destiny was through Nadal in the semis and Federer in the final. Change is not far away.