Novak Djokovic vs Stan Wawrinka: Score, Recap for Australian Open 2015 Semifinal

Novak Djokovic will meet Andy Murray in Sunday's Australian Open final after beating Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in Friday's last-four encounter.

In truth, this match is more likely to be remembered for a slew of unforced errors, despite Djokovic asserting his control in the fifth set.

Both players appeared nervous in the first set. Djokovic was the more comfortable and commanded on serve, but both stars were guilty of telegraphing their shots. Wawrinka broke at 4-3 when Djokovic slowed the pace, with the Serbian leveling proceedings through a break of his own in the next game.

Despite Wawrinka saving two set points and forcing a tiebreaker, Djokovic upped the ante to race into a 6-1 lead in the breaker. From there, he served out the opening set.

Djokovic struggled through the second, despite Wawrinka saving a further two break points in the opening game. The competition favourite hit long and then watched on in disbelief as Wawrinka managed to find the tramline with an excellent forehand to halt an early advantage.

Hawkeye showed the ball couldn't have been closer to landing out, a result which appeared to give Wawrinka confidence.

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At 5-2 up, Wawrinka smashed home an unstoppable volley to give himself three set points. Djokovic powered an unforced error beyond the baseline, dropping his first set of the tournament in the process. 

Wawrinka had an immediate opportunity to increase the pressure further, but he missed his break point during the opening game of the third set. Djokovic made him pay with his own break but then proceeded to miss another with the score 3-0. Wawrinka battled between bouts of rash shot choices, gaining his first break of the set when Djokovic slammed into the net.

At 3-3, the world No. 1 once again assumed control with some powerful forehand strokes from the baseline. He fired himself to set point, taking a 2-1 overall lead when Wawrinka's whipped return failed to pass the net.

Djokovic retrieved a pinpoint Wawrinka backhand to break immediately in the fourth set but once again descended toward poor form to hand his opponent a sniff. Wawrinka broke to make the score 2-1 and, in keeping with the match, played three awful shots to allow Djokovic another break opportunity.

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Wawrinka momentarily showed his class, however, battling from 0-40 down to win the game. He killed the ball dead with a fantastic dropshot to stop Djokovic moving ahead, one of the best shots of the match.

Djokovic's posture stooped, and before long, he was 4-3 down after allowing Wawrinka to break with another unforced error. The Swiss standout eventually served for the set, levelling the match after calmly stroking a forehand to Djokovic's left. 

It was Djokovic who took control in the fifth, enjoying a double-break to push the score to 4-0. Wawrinka's race was run at this point, and he handed Djokovic the match by hitting wide, the fifth-set score settling at 6-0.

Wawrinka hit 69 unforced errors in a display he will quickly look to forget. Djokovic also posted 49 of his own, reported by the Australian Open website. Djokovic only hit 27 winners, compared to 42 from his opponent, suggesting he was lucky to escape with such a poor showing.

The winner spoke afterward, per Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian:

"

I was ready for the battle, and it was a great battle. We pushed each other to the limit, and I congratulate Stan on a great tournament. I think I played well, two sets to one and a break point, and I just played a couple of loose games. Stan is a quality player, and I made my life very complicated. The first game of the fifth set was very close, and making it 2-0 was crucial.

"

This was by no means a vintage Djokovic performance. His tempo continually flitted, and he was unable to hammer shots home like many would expect. Though Djokovic often looked to end points early—perhaps with a final against Murray in mind—he was often unable to do this. There's no doubt he was lucky to face Wawrinka on a mistake-ridden day.

Murray brilliantly dismantled Tomas Berdych on Thursday (6-7(6), 6-0, 6-3, 7-5) to underline his credentials. While it's brave to bet against Djokovic—a four-time winner at the Australian Open—the British star's excellent run of form will have many plumping for something of an upset.