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Djokovic-Murray final awaits

January 30, 2015

Serbian Novak Djokovic has defeated Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open, to earn a showdown with Andy Murray in the final. Earlier, the women's doubles winners were also decided at Melbourne Park.

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Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the Australian Open
Image: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic overcame defending champion Stan Wawrinka in an epic five-set thriller to reach his fourth Australian Open final in the last five years.

Djokovic, bidding to become the first man to win five Australian Open titles since 1968, arguably played some of his worst tennis of the tournament. The game had 12 breaks of serve and nearly 120 combined unforced errors in the momentum-shifting semifinal.

Both players had their chances, with Djokovic fluffing his lines when two sets up and closing in on victory in the fourth set. Wawrinka clawed his way back, breaking the Serb and saving three of his own break points with some brilliant play before taking the encounter as far as he could.

However, the number one seed Djokovic won the points that mattered and held on to beat the Swiss 7-6(1) 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0.

"As was the case in the last two years we played five sets and I was ready for the battle," Djokovic said in a courtside interview post-game. "We pushed each other to the limit."

"Stan is a quality player," Djokovic added. "I made my life very complicated on the court."

The 27-year-old Djokovic has now won his last nine matches against top 10 opponents and will face Andy Murray for a shot at his eight Grand Slam title on Sunday. The Scotsman defeated Tomas Berdych on Thursday.

Earlier, American Bethanie Mattek-Sands won her second Australian Open doubles title after she and Lucie Safarova combined to beat China's Zheng Jie and her Taiwanese partner Chan Yung-jan.

apc/al (Reuters, DPA)