Novak Djokovic edged closer to a 17th Grand Slam title as Roger Federer failed to produce a third miracle comeback in as many matches at the Australian Open.
Having recovered from the brink against both John Millman and Tennys Sandgren, a clearly not fully fit Federer, who needed off-court treatment for a back issue, had the opportunity to move into a 5-1 lead in the opening set.
On the hottest day at this year’s tournament, with temperatures hitting nearly 40 degrees, Djokovic rescued three break points, forced a tiebreak, and never looked back for a 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Federer had gone into the tie with question marks over his fitness having had his right thigh heavily strapped moments before their semi-final, and having had groin and leg issues during his quarter-final.
Having overcome the mental hurdle of beating Djokovic at last year’s ATP Finals in London for the first time since 2015, he could not overcome his Grand Slam hoodoo against the Serbian.
This was his sixth straight Slam defeat to Djokovic, his last success coming at Wimbledon in 2012.
But his shortcoming looked far more a physical than mental one on this occasion as Djokovic set up a final against either Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev in the knowledge he has not lost in his previous seven finals in Melbourne.
“It could have gone a different way if he’d used those break points,” said Djokovic. “He started off really well. Respect to Roger coming out tonight, he was obviously hurt and wasn’t close to his best in terms of movement.”
