Melbourne: Novak Djokovic was stretched to five sets again by Stan Wawrinka before beating the defending champion 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 on Friday night to reach his fifth Australian Open final.
The top-ranked Djokovic equaled the record shared by Roger Federer and Stefan Edberg for most Australian finals in the Open era. He has won all four of his previous finals here, including two against Andy Murray. Djokovic and Murray will meet on Sunday for the title.
Game over. Autographs signed. Interviews done. #ausopen https://t.co/EKIfhIh9Ki
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2015The previous three Grand Slam meetings between Djokovic and Wawrinka had gone five sets, including two at the Australian Open that lasted a combined nine hours.
Djokovic won 12-10 in the fifth in the fourth round in 2013 and Wawrinka won 9-7 in the fifth in the quarterfinals last year.
#Djokovic: That was a great battle, we pushed each other to the limit, I congratulate Stan, he's a great competitor http://t.co/5L2uYFO2a8
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2015
#Djokovic: "Andy and I go back to when we were 12 years old. That's the 1st time we played. It's nice we're playing another Slam final"
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2015
