Australian Open semi-finalsKEY POINTS:
Top-ranked Roger Federer's streak of 10 straight grand slam finals came to an abrupt end last night, as he lost to No 3 seed Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 in the Australian Open semifinals.
Federer, who had been seeking his third consecutive title, didn't look like the same
player who has won 13 majors. The emotional Djokovic hit 13 aces and 50 winners, largely avoiding the nerves that have troubled him in the past.
He now faces unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday's final.
"I am just very amazed I coped with the pressure," Djokovic said. "In the most important moments I played my best tennis."
Other than a twitchy third-round victory over Janko Tipsarevic that went to 10-8 in the fifth set, Federer had been in good form after a stomach ailment interrupted his pre-tournament preparations.
He dominated James Blake in the quarter-finals and appeared to be peaking at the right time.
Instead, he fell to his first straight-sets loss in a grand slam tournament since a third-round defeat to Gustavo Kuerten at the 2004 French Open.
But the crowd still gave Federer a standing ovation as he quickly left the court. "I think he made the more important points today, it was a bit unfortunate for me," Federer said.
"It depends a lot on day form, you can't always play your best. There is no doubt I have played better before.
"I've created a monster that I need to win every tournament - still the semifinals isn't bad."
In the women's doubles, Ukraine's Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko overcame sibling rivalry to win their first title yesterday.
The sisters came from a set down to win 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 against 12th seeds Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Israeli Shahar Peer in a match lasting nearly two hours and uncharacteristically dominated by baseline rallies.
"Last year we played not very good doubles because sometimes we fight on the court," Alona Bondarenko said after the match.
"But now we start to listen to each other and understand, and maybe that's the key."
It was the first time the Bondarenko sisters had won a doubles title in their 38th tournament playing together. Their previous best was reaching three semifinals in WTA Tour events.
They had the chance to serve for the match at 5-2 but were broken before sealing victory on their first match point at 5-4 when Azarenka hit a backhand return into the net.
They said they would continue to play both singles and doubles - Alona was seeded 21st in the singles at Melbourne Park - but would prefer not to meet each other in tournaments.
"Yeah, for me it's not easy because she plays more winners (and has a) good serve, good shots," Alona said of her younger sister.
- Agencies