US Open Tennis 2011: Semi Final Preview: Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will meet in the semi-finals of the US Open for the fourth year in a row, in what will be their third grand slam semi-final meeting this season.

In recent years, Djokovic has lived in the shadow of Federer and Nadal and has scraped victories where he could against the pair. But in 2011, Djokovic has had a career year.  Jumping from the shadows, the Serbian has lost only two matches this season en route to a 62-2 record going into the semi-finals at the US Open.

The new world number one,Djokovic, has already beaten Federer in one grand slam semi-final this year and has beaten Nadal in five different finals including Wimbledon back in July.

But the one match everyone is talking about heading into today’s semi-final is the French Open semi-final, where Djokovic, at that point unbeaten all season, was beaten by Roger Federer in four sets.

With 23 meetings in the past five years between the pair, many in the latter stages of tournaments, it is Federer who holds the better record. Federer has a 14-9 record over Djokovic going into today's clash.  But don’t let the statistics talk too loudly.

In the last year and a half Djokovic has become more dominant over Federer and taken most of his nine wins in that period.  This time it will be Djokovic going into the match as favourite and the pressure seems to be getting to him.

Federer seems just as comfortable being the underdog (as much as he can ever be), and seems to be revelling in the way he has been somewhat written off by some members of the press and tennis world in recent months.

Forget the incredible record Djokovic has had this year, and the below-par season (by his standards) that Federer has had. Looking at the US Open, it is probably Federer who will go into the match as the more confident man.

Federer has worked his way through his earlier rounds with comfort and his demolition of Juan Monaco got everyone’s attention.  Djokovic has also had a relatively easy path through the rounds, although the Serb has looked vulnerable at times, especially early in matches and early in sets.

Looking at the quarter-final performance of both men then one would be in no doubt Federer takes the edge into the semi-final.  His match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was of huge significance after the Frenchman beat Federer at Wimbledon and again just three weeks ago in Montreal.  But the former world number one breezed through the match, barely looking like he needed to play his best tennis, ready to step up a gear if needed.  He really does appear to be back in great form.

Djokovic, on the other hand, had a more difficult time in the quarters.  Playing against fellow Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, the new world number one ran into some difficulty.  Again looking vulnerable on serve and starting very slowly in the second set particularly, Djokovic found the match evenly poised at one-set all after two tense tiebreakers.  After Tipsarevic had treatment on a leg injury, Djokovic started to take control of the match and won the third set before requiring treatment of his own.

After retiring in the final of the Cincinnati Masters a week before the Open, Djokovic already had an injury question mark heading into the tournament.  It seems his body is feeling the strain of being the world number one, as the Serbian stopped the match to receive treatment on a badly blistered foot.

This is set to be a very close match and will see both players slugging it out from the baseline, with the result coming down to which player is more consistent and gets through with less unforced errors.

Federer is looking good and his fans have good reason to be optimistic going into the clash, but as much as Djokovic is having a little wobble, his performances this year have seen him take a step above his main rivals, and it is Federer’s turn to try and break out from his shadow.