Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-3 in the Australian Open semi-final, 2020 on hard court
Djokovic would go onto win the title, beating Dominic Thiem in the final. This was the last meeting between the pair. Djokovic finished the head-to-head with 27-23 lead. This was the last Slam semi for Federer
Djokovic won 113 points, Federer 93
Serve Stats
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (73/102) 72%
- 1st serve points won (53/73) 73%
- 2nd serve points won (16/29) 55%
- Aces 12
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/102) 29%
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (68/104) 65%
- 1st serve points won (45/68) 66%
- 2nd serve points won (15/36) 42%
- Aces 15 (1 second serve), Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/104) 29%
Serve Pattern
Djokovic served...
- to FH 45%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 1%
Federer served...
- to FH 55%
- to BH 40%
- to Body 5%
Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 71 (41 FH, 30 BH)
- 2 Winners (2 BH)
- 14 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- 8 Forced (4 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (71/101) 70%
Federer made...
- 71 (38 FH, 33 BH), including 2 return-approaches
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 18 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- 13 Forced (3 FH, 10 BH)
- Return Rate (71/101) 70%
Break Points
Djokovic 4/11 (8 games)
Federer 2/7 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Djokovic 17 (8 FH, 8 BH, 1 BHV)
Federer 30 (16 FH, 5 BH, 3 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)
Djokovic's FHs - 3 cc (1 pass), 3 inside-out (1 at net), 2 running-down-drop-shot at net passes (1 cc, 1 longline)
- BHs - 2 cc (1 pass), 6 dtl (2 returns, 1 pass, 1 at net) and 1 running-down-drop-shot drop-shot at net
- the BHV was a swinging longline, non-net shot
Federer's FHs - 5 cc (1 return), 3 dtl (1 return), 5 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 1 longline
- BHs - 2 cc and 3 dtl (1 pass)
- 4 from serve-volley points - 3 first 'volleys' (2 FHV, 1 FH at net) & 1 second volley (1 OH)
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Djokovic 32
- 18 Unforced (8 FH, 10 BH)
- 14 Forced (8 FH, 6 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.2
Federer 63
- 46 Unforced (21 FH, 23 BH, 2 BHV)... with 1 BH at net & 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- 17 Forced (10 FH, 5 BH, 1 BH1/2V, 1 Tweener)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.7
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: The 'Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is a measure of how aggressive of intent the average UE made was. 60 is maximum, 20 is minimum. This match has been scored using a four point scale - 2 defensive, 4 neutral, 5 attacking, 6 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Djokovic was 10/11 (91%) at net
Federer was...
- 19/30 (63%) at net, including...
- 7/7 (100%) serve-volleying, all first serves
---
- 0/2 return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back
Match Report
In retrospect, a poignant match, the last of 50 between 2 great players. Federer is at his most resourceful with pinpoint serves and sober shot-making to start,but weakens thereafter as Djoko clinically takes him apart on a quick side of normal, low bouncing court
Some background. Fed had had some injury trouble in the earlier rounds and it wasn’t certain if he would take the court for this encounter. Not only does he take it, but plays beautifully and wisely for a set and puts himself in prime position to take it
He’s up 5-2, 0-30 (returning) before it turns around. He’s lucky to even get into a tiebreak from there. Tiebreak itself is flawless from Djokovic to take the set
Thereafter, Fed’s game is weak to point of making it a mismatch. Djoko plays with clinical, unstrained coolness to unravel it. Earlier, he’d had to go to a higher gear than ‘clinical’, and even that a guarantee of coming up on top
Upto 5-2, 0-30, Fed has 11 winners, 11 UEs and has forced 3 errors from opponent. In addition to 8 aces and a service winner in just 4 service games
Thereafter, 19 winners, 35 UEs and forces 11 errors. And 7 aces
First Part
Djoko comes out looking for a FH cc shooting match. Its what he tends to do when he’s confident
Fed comes out doing many positive things
- Serves beautifully in hitting his spots. All those aces aren’t overly powerful. Serves to Djoko’s FH, which tends to lead to livlier action (which isn’t necessarily a good thing for Djoko’s opponents, but its where Fed would have a better chance of doing well here). Djoko gets his share of very deep returns in amidst the aces, and Fed’s not good at coping with near half-volleys to the baseline
- Plays along the FH cc shoot-out, getting the shorter end of it. But takes half-chances in going for winners (off both wings). Its not ‘crazy, trying to hit winners from everywhere all the time’ deal. The balls he picks are there for the shots, if somewhat ambitious. Makes some, misses some - making a few more than he misses
- Returns early, taking first serves from around the baseline. Not overly aggressive with the shot, but again, picks his balls. He has 2 return winners - 1 wonderful FH dtl, the other FH cc utilizing the angle of a good, wide serve by Djoko
Downside is his struggling to reach wide returns, but on whole, it’s a good ploy. Stepping back and getting more returns in play safely while leaving Djoko with initiative isn’t likely to go well for him. Works particularly well with his serve firing, and thus giving him luxary of giving away a few freebies (and Djoko serves well too, wouldn’t be easy to return him from any position)
Some beautiful winners from Fed in this part of the match. There are FH inside-outs set up by the serve. Couple of lovely BH cc from middle of court, a drop shot Djoko in and then BH dtl pass him 1-2 that’s perfect, some damaging wide FH cc’s
Breaks Djoko twice and has him down 0-40 the other time
Djoko’s not slouching either. Breaks once and had Fed down 15-40 one other time, but all those aces are hard to get over
Not rattled, but needing a change, Djoko switches to beat-down BH play. This is what he likes to do to Fed as default. His BH cc’s are particularly strong here, and he’s willing to go borderline attackingly wide with it beyond his norm
A weakness throughout match is Fed’s shot tolerance and to lesser extent, sustained movement and he duly gets beaten down, but opportunistically goes for his shots with the angles opened up by Djoko’s BH play (misses more than he makes), and Djoko falters some too with his attacking BH dtl’s set up by wide BH cc’s.
All this gets us to 2-5, 0-30, Djoko two points away from losing the set
Second Part
Djoko holds from there with errors and a couple of unreturned serves. Breaks Fed to love, holds again and has Fed down 2 break points after that. Fed saves ‘em, which isn’t expected. Both are second serve points. Other than those 2, Fed wins 3/15 second serve points for the set
Plays a flawlessly tiebreak. He’d made 0 UEs in 3 of them at the last Wimbledon final. Doesn’t make one here either, but does bop 3 winners and an ace
Not much competition for rest of match. Djoko returns to clinical mode, which he’d only just gone above earlier. Good, solid serving. Good, easy firm returning, much of it deep. Polished easy groundies off both sides. Still targets Fed’s BH more than the other side
Fed continues to serve well, without hitting the line as often. Returns in same style, not badly. Can’t keep the ball in court from the back, and his UEs pile up. Slices a lot of BHs that don’t bother Djoko at all
Made to run a fair bit. His running speed is fine. Better than someone like Cilic’s ever is, but he’s a bit slow to move defensively to balls slightly wide and firmly struck (often deep too). It doesn’t take much to get an error out of him
Not even a deuce game on Djoko’s serve. Fed has 4, all of which he faces break points on
Ground UEs for last 2 sets -
Djoko 7 (4 FH, 3 BH)
Fed 20 (9 FH, 11 BH)
Clean and efficient from Djoko, the opposite from Fed. Essentially, a mismatch
Djokovic would go onto win the title, beating Dominic Thiem in the final. This was the last meeting between the pair. Djokovic finished the head-to-head with 27-23 lead. This was the last Slam semi for Federer
Djokovic won 113 points, Federer 93
Serve Stats
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (73/102) 72%
- 1st serve points won (53/73) 73%
- 2nd serve points won (16/29) 55%
- Aces 12
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/102) 29%
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (68/104) 65%
- 1st serve points won (45/68) 66%
- 2nd serve points won (15/36) 42%
- Aces 15 (1 second serve), Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/104) 29%
Serve Pattern
Djokovic served...
- to FH 45%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 1%
Federer served...
- to FH 55%
- to BH 40%
- to Body 5%
Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 71 (41 FH, 30 BH)
- 2 Winners (2 BH)
- 14 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- 8 Forced (4 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (71/101) 70%
Federer made...
- 71 (38 FH, 33 BH), including 2 return-approaches
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 18 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- 13 Forced (3 FH, 10 BH)
- Return Rate (71/101) 70%
Break Points
Djokovic 4/11 (8 games)
Federer 2/7 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Djokovic 17 (8 FH, 8 BH, 1 BHV)
Federer 30 (16 FH, 5 BH, 3 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)
Djokovic's FHs - 3 cc (1 pass), 3 inside-out (1 at net), 2 running-down-drop-shot at net passes (1 cc, 1 longline)
- BHs - 2 cc (1 pass), 6 dtl (2 returns, 1 pass, 1 at net) and 1 running-down-drop-shot drop-shot at net
- the BHV was a swinging longline, non-net shot
Federer's FHs - 5 cc (1 return), 3 dtl (1 return), 5 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 1 longline
- BHs - 2 cc and 3 dtl (1 pass)
- 4 from serve-volley points - 3 first 'volleys' (2 FHV, 1 FH at net) & 1 second volley (1 OH)
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Djokovic 32
- 18 Unforced (8 FH, 10 BH)
- 14 Forced (8 FH, 6 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.2
Federer 63
- 46 Unforced (21 FH, 23 BH, 2 BHV)... with 1 BH at net & 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- 17 Forced (10 FH, 5 BH, 1 BH1/2V, 1 Tweener)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.7
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: The 'Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is a measure of how aggressive of intent the average UE made was. 60 is maximum, 20 is minimum. This match has been scored using a four point scale - 2 defensive, 4 neutral, 5 attacking, 6 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Djokovic was 10/11 (91%) at net
Federer was...
- 19/30 (63%) at net, including...
- 7/7 (100%) serve-volleying, all first serves
---
- 0/2 return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back
Match Report
In retrospect, a poignant match, the last of 50 between 2 great players. Federer is at his most resourceful with pinpoint serves and sober shot-making to start,but weakens thereafter as Djoko clinically takes him apart on a quick side of normal, low bouncing court
Some background. Fed had had some injury trouble in the earlier rounds and it wasn’t certain if he would take the court for this encounter. Not only does he take it, but plays beautifully and wisely for a set and puts himself in prime position to take it
He’s up 5-2, 0-30 (returning) before it turns around. He’s lucky to even get into a tiebreak from there. Tiebreak itself is flawless from Djokovic to take the set
Thereafter, Fed’s game is weak to point of making it a mismatch. Djoko plays with clinical, unstrained coolness to unravel it. Earlier, he’d had to go to a higher gear than ‘clinical’, and even that a guarantee of coming up on top
Upto 5-2, 0-30, Fed has 11 winners, 11 UEs and has forced 3 errors from opponent. In addition to 8 aces and a service winner in just 4 service games
Thereafter, 19 winners, 35 UEs and forces 11 errors. And 7 aces
First Part
Djoko comes out looking for a FH cc shooting match. Its what he tends to do when he’s confident
Fed comes out doing many positive things
- Serves beautifully in hitting his spots. All those aces aren’t overly powerful. Serves to Djoko’s FH, which tends to lead to livlier action (which isn’t necessarily a good thing for Djoko’s opponents, but its where Fed would have a better chance of doing well here). Djoko gets his share of very deep returns in amidst the aces, and Fed’s not good at coping with near half-volleys to the baseline
- Plays along the FH cc shoot-out, getting the shorter end of it. But takes half-chances in going for winners (off both wings). Its not ‘crazy, trying to hit winners from everywhere all the time’ deal. The balls he picks are there for the shots, if somewhat ambitious. Makes some, misses some - making a few more than he misses
- Returns early, taking first serves from around the baseline. Not overly aggressive with the shot, but again, picks his balls. He has 2 return winners - 1 wonderful FH dtl, the other FH cc utilizing the angle of a good, wide serve by Djoko
Downside is his struggling to reach wide returns, but on whole, it’s a good ploy. Stepping back and getting more returns in play safely while leaving Djoko with initiative isn’t likely to go well for him. Works particularly well with his serve firing, and thus giving him luxary of giving away a few freebies (and Djoko serves well too, wouldn’t be easy to return him from any position)
Some beautiful winners from Fed in this part of the match. There are FH inside-outs set up by the serve. Couple of lovely BH cc from middle of court, a drop shot Djoko in and then BH dtl pass him 1-2 that’s perfect, some damaging wide FH cc’s
Breaks Djoko twice and has him down 0-40 the other time
Djoko’s not slouching either. Breaks once and had Fed down 15-40 one other time, but all those aces are hard to get over
Not rattled, but needing a change, Djoko switches to beat-down BH play. This is what he likes to do to Fed as default. His BH cc’s are particularly strong here, and he’s willing to go borderline attackingly wide with it beyond his norm
A weakness throughout match is Fed’s shot tolerance and to lesser extent, sustained movement and he duly gets beaten down, but opportunistically goes for his shots with the angles opened up by Djoko’s BH play (misses more than he makes), and Djoko falters some too with his attacking BH dtl’s set up by wide BH cc’s.
All this gets us to 2-5, 0-30, Djoko two points away from losing the set
Second Part
Djoko holds from there with errors and a couple of unreturned serves. Breaks Fed to love, holds again and has Fed down 2 break points after that. Fed saves ‘em, which isn’t expected. Both are second serve points. Other than those 2, Fed wins 3/15 second serve points for the set
Plays a flawlessly tiebreak. He’d made 0 UEs in 3 of them at the last Wimbledon final. Doesn’t make one here either, but does bop 3 winners and an ace
Not much competition for rest of match. Djoko returns to clinical mode, which he’d only just gone above earlier. Good, solid serving. Good, easy firm returning, much of it deep. Polished easy groundies off both sides. Still targets Fed’s BH more than the other side
Fed continues to serve well, without hitting the line as often. Returns in same style, not badly. Can’t keep the ball in court from the back, and his UEs pile up. Slices a lot of BHs that don’t bother Djoko at all
Made to run a fair bit. His running speed is fine. Better than someone like Cilic’s ever is, but he’s a bit slow to move defensively to balls slightly wide and firmly struck (often deep too). It doesn’t take much to get an error out of him
Not even a deuce game on Djoko’s serve. Fed has 4, all of which he faces break points on
Ground UEs for last 2 sets -
Djoko 7 (4 FH, 3 BH)
Fed 20 (9 FH, 11 BH)
Clean and efficient from Djoko, the opposite from Fed. Essentially, a mismatch