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Federer Beats Blake, Djokovic Next at Australian Open
Posted on January 23, 2008
World No. 1 Roger Federer put down a stern test from James Blake Wednesday at the Australian Open, defeating the American 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-4 to advance into the semifinals where he will face Serb sensation Novak Djokovic.
The No. 3-seeded Djokovic beat No. 5 David Ferrer 6-0, 6-3, 7-5.
"Playing against James it's always great fun," Federer said. "Traded breaks a couple times in the first and second set, which for me maybe wasn't necessary, obviously. But he's dangerous when he's even behind in the game. You miss a couple of first serves maybe or he shoots from the hip. It happens. But I was happy the way I came up with great shots in the great tiebreaker especially, was able to wear him down. So I was happy."
Federer is seeking his third straight Australian Open title to pull within one of Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam wins. A win over Djokovic would put him in his 11th consecutive Slam final.
"It's great to be on top of the game for so long and be compared to the greats like Rod Laver and Sampras," Federer said. "I'm looking at history, looking at my own game."
Blake is no 0-8 against Federer.
"He seems like one of the guys in the locker room," Blake said. "Then you go out there, he beats you. You come back in the locker room and he's one of the guys...I really went in thinking I had a good chance to win. I thought I played pretty well. But he came up with some of his best at the right times, and that was the difference."
With the win over Blake, Federer secured his hold on the No. 1 ranking for the length of the event over close competitor and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
Federer holds a 5-1 career mark against Djokovic, but was upset by the Serb last year on hardcourts at the Masters Series-Canada, where Djokovic beat the Top 3-ranked players in the world.
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