Australian Open 2015: Predictions for Top Stars in Day 12 Singles Draw
Who needs Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal?
Although two of the titans of tennis bowed out of the 2015 Australian Open earlier than many expected, there is still plenty of star power taking the court on Day 12 for the right to play Andy Murray in the final.
No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic will lace it up in the semifinals against No. 4 seed Stanislas Wawrinka in what promises to be a thrilling showdown.
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The rest of the Day 12 schedule can be found here, courtesy of the event’s main website.
Wawrinka is the defending champion Down Under, while Djokovic won in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013. That’s right, these two players have captured the past four Australian Open titles, and only Murray stands in the way of that happening again for the fifth year in a row.
Djokovic reached the semifinals with a fairly straightforward victory over Milos Raonic, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2, and didn’t even face a break point. In fact, he has only dropped a service game one time in five matches thus far at the tournament.
Wawrinka knocked off Kei Nishikori in his quarterfinals match, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (6), and has only lost one of 26 sets on the way to the showdown with Djokovic. These are two of the best players in the world playing at a particularly high level, and they should put on a show if recent history is any indication.
Matt Wilansky of ESPN.com set the stage for the semifinals clash:
"Unlike Caroline Wozniacki, Djokovic has not run a marathon, but given the Serb's previous encounters against Wawrinka, he'd better be prepared to run at least 26.2 miles come Friday night in Melbourne.
His past three Grand Slam matches against Wawrinka have been frenetically fun; each has gone five sets, and we're not talking your garden-variety five-setters, but rather high-octane slugfests that left even the wary onlookers gasping for air.
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Wawrinka beat Djokovic in last year’s Australian Open quarterfinals in a thrilling match that went the full five sets. Wawrinka finally emerged with the victory after a 9-7 final set that left both players physically exhausted.
It was business as usual for these two, though, considering Djokovic won the fifth set 12-10 two years ago against Wawrinka in the Australian Open. They also played a five-set match at the US Open just a few months later that Djokovic finally won.
Djokovic commented on the grueling nature of some of these past few matches with Wawrinka, via Wilansky in a separate piece:
"As I mentioned before, I'm ready for the battle. When we played last three Grand Slam matches they were the finals stages of a Grand Slam, semifinals, quarterfinals. Grand Slams are the tournaments where you want to perform your best.
I'm sure we both are very much aware of that fact, and it's why we get to play on a high level against each other and we push each other to the limit in a way. It's a very physical battle, as well. But I haven't had too many long matches during this tournament. I'm ready for it. I'm going to practice tomorrow, do a little preparation for that match, try to analyze his game and what I need to do in order to win.
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Despite these recent nailbiters, Djokovic actually holds a commanding 16-3 lead in the overall series and has won 15 of the past 16 matches against Wawrinka. Djokovic last cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 victory at the ATP World Tour Finals over Wawrinka and won the majority of the longer rally points because of his superior speed in the matchup.
If Wawrinka is going to win, he has to control the match with his impressive serve and powerful backhand, but that is a similar style that Raonic plays. While Wawrinka is the more formidable opponent than Raonic, Djokovic is prepared for this match after his quarterfinals win.
Throw that on top of the fact that breaking Djokovic’s serve is a virtually impossible task at this point, and the world’s top-ranked player will advance with his 16th win in 17 tries against Wawrinka.
Nobody is playing better tennis than Djokovic, and it seems inevitable that he will take home another Australian Open title.
Prediction: Djokovic in four sets
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