Australian Open 2015 Results: Winners, Scores, Stats from Day 12 Singles Bracket
Only one singles match graced Day 12 of the 2015 Australian Open, but boy, was it a doozy.
With Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova wrapping up their respective halves of the women's draw earlier this week and Andy Murray taking care of his half Thursday, all that was left entering Friday was an anticipated rematch between No. 1 Novak Djokovic and defending champion Stan Wawrinka. It went just about how many expected in that it lasted five sets, but it brought plenty of surprises and twists along with it.
It's been an incredible first Grand Slam of the year prior to this weekend's finals, and Djokovic vs. Wawrinka was an indication of that. Here's a complete look at Day 12, which is an in-depth recap of the lone semifinal.
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| No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. No. 4 Stan Wawrinka | 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 |
Note: Day 12 scores courtesy of AusOpen.com.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. No. 4 Stan Wawrinka
It wasn't necessarily an eye-popping display of fortitude for either player, but Djokovic and Wawrinka still played to the most memorable match so far in Melbourne with the Serbian top seed ousting the defending champion in a five-set marathon match.
A semifinal anticipated since the reveal of the draw, this was the third straight meeting in Melbourne between the two, and it was another incredible showdown, as shown by Bleacher Report UK:
But while they say the third time is the charm, that doesn't ring true in this situation.
The opening set was almost hard to watch for two aggressive players who typically let the game come to them. Each seemed hesitant to give the other any space, with Djokovic wary to open up the court to Wawrinka and Stan struggling to swing through shots early—perhaps due to nerves.
| Djokovic | 5 | 27 | 49 | 154 |
| Wawrinka | 15 | 42 | 69 | 139 |
Djokovic probably felt lucky to get out of the first set tiebreaker, but Wawrinka steamrolled him in the next set to draw level. Tense moments surfaced for Djokovic's box in the third set, when he took a 3-0 lead only to allow Wawrinka back into the set entirely before pulling it out to gain the edge.
Wawrinka was able to draw level again in the fourth, but it just took too much fight to get there. Once Djokovic got an early break in the fifth set, he couldn't be stopped.
It's spectacular how far off Djokovic looked from his typical dominance, yet he still found a way to convincingly beat the defending champion and the man who ended his three-year reign in 2014. You don't hear this often in any semifinal, but he admitted not to be playing his best tennis, per tennis journalist Carole Bouchard:
Wawrinka himself won't be satisfied with his performance after committing a whopping 69 unforced errors and winning just 34 percent of his receiving points. He elaborated to ATPWorldTour.com about how he was satisfied in breaking Djokovic's serve on five of eight opportunities: “When you see the stats, I think he lost his serve once before tonight. It's just that we know each other so well. We practice so many times together. In Grand Slams we had some big battles."
Friday was another one, but unlike the last time out, Djokovic finished on top and left no doubt of his superiority as the tournament's top seed—even on an off day for his standards. That sets up a dream-like final showdown with Murray, which New York Times' Ben Rothenberg thinks could be a bad sign for the Djoker:
The sixth-seeded Murray has been absolutely red hot in Melbourne, but watching Djokovic before the semifinal—and even seeing how he overcame adversity in the semis—indicates that he's playing at a similar level. Both players are locked in with their serve, and they are returning opponents' services in a dominant fashion.
Djokovic will still be hard-pressed to oust an opponent he holds a 15-8 head-to-head record against, but he'll come in confident after ending Wawrinka's 10-match win streak and hopes of defending his championship in Melbourne.
Match stats courtesy of the Australian Open official site.
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