Australian Open 2015: Day 12 Results, Highlights and Scores Recap from Melbourne
| Men's Singles | Novak Djokovic | 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 | Stanislas Wawrinka |
| Women's Doubles | Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova | 6-4, 7-6(5) | Zheng Jie/Chan Yung-Jan |
Novak Djokovic overcame reigning Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka in a gripping semi-final, winning a five-set epic to progress to Sunday’s final.
The top seed eventually won by a scoreline of 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, setting up an enticing showdown with sixth seed Andy Murray at the Rod Laver Arena.
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Elsewhere, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova were crowned as the women’s doubles champions. The unseeded pair was too good for the duo of Jie Zheng and Yung-Jan Chan, clinching the title with an impressive straight-sets win.
Here are the results from Day 12 and a recap of the best of the action.
Djokovic Secures Final Spot
The world No. 1 eventually ground down the reigning champion in a thoroughly entertaining semi-final. The match—their third consecutive five-set epic at this tournament—was even throughout, but Djokovic surged to victory with an emphatic display in the final set.
Sky Sports News HQ ran the rule over both players ahead of the semi-final showdown:
These two men have played out some engrossing battles down the years. From the off, there seemed to be little doubt we were in for another titanic tussle.
The first set saw both players settle into encouraging grooves on their service games, and Djokovic emerged the victor in a one-sided tiebreak, per the tournament’s official Twitter account:
Wawrinka loves a battle, though, and he came roaring back in the second. The Swiss star got his backhand working, and his superb play from the baseline was the catalyst for him to level up the match. But Djokovic responded with distinction, re-establishing his lead by taking the third set 6-4.
A break for Novak at the start of the fourth looked likely to condemn Wawrinka to defeat. But as we can see, the champion wasn’t going to let his grip slip on the trophy without a scrap:
He went on to break Djokovic and take the match into an deciding stanza. But the effort Wawrinka exerted to haul himself back level took its toll in earnest, as Djokovic coasted to a 6-0 win in the final set.
Here's a look at the winning moment:
The challenge for Novak is overcoming the strains this match will yield. Murray will be able to enjoy an extra day's rest ahead of the final, and that could prove to be crucial at the end of a draining tournament. But tonight, you suspect the top seed will just be delighted to have made it past a top-class opponent with his hopes of an eighth Grand Slam title still alive.
Doubles Glory for Mattek-Sands and Safarova
The first title of the tournament was decided at the Rod Laver Arena prior to the men’s semi-final match, as Mattek-Sands and Safarova put in an excellent display to whet the appetite for the Djokovic vs. Wawrinka showdown.
Here’s the moment the duo secured victory:
It was the second time Mattek-Sands sampled doubles glory at a Grand Slam. For Safarova, playing alongside the American yielded her first-ever victory at a major tournament.
Success here represented a remarkable achievement for the two women, who had not played together ahead of this tournament.
Seeded 14th, Zheng and Chan were arguably the big favourites coming into the final. But after their opponents were handed an easy passage through to the showpiece following the retirement of German duo Julia Goerges and Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the semi-finals, Mattek-Sands and Safarova always looked as though they boasted a physical edge on the crucial points.
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