Federer out in Australia

A day after No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals, it seemed the 2011 Australian Open would be another trophy on Roger Federer’s mantle.  It seemed that way to everyone but Novak Djokovic.  Djokovic, who has been steamrolling through the tournament has beaten Federer before, including their last Grand Slam encounter 4 months ago at the US Open, had a plan.  Attacking Federer from the very beginning, Djokovic used every shot in the book to keep Federer from being, well, Federer.  Following Rafael Nadal’s example from 2008, Djokovic pressured Federer on the backhand side relentlessly.  Federer responded with 44 unforced errors, resulting in a straight sets victory by Djokovic.

This will be the first major final without either Federer or Nadal since 2008 when Djokovic was the winner at the Australian Open over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Djokovic will face the winner of the Andy Murray/David Ferrer match.

The womens semifinals were upsets as well, No. 9 Na Li came from a set down to defeat No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.  In doing so, Na Li becomes the first player from China to play in a Grand Slam final.

Her opponent will be Kim Clijsters (3), who knocked out Vera Zvonareva (2) in an upset that was not really an upset.  Clijsters already has 3 major titles under her belt and will be the heavy favorite to win another.