Roger Federer brought Novak Djokovic’s 43-match winning run to a sensational end Friday as the Swiss legend reached a fifth French Open final and a fourth Paris title showdown with five-time champion Rafael Nadal.
Federer, stunned the world number two Serb 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), a victory which not only shattered Djokovic’s hopes of making a first Roland Garros final, but also stalled his bid to take over as world number one. However, showing the fight which has brought him seven titles in 2011, Djokovic carved out the only break of the third set in the second game on his way to cutting the deficit.
Serve dominated in the fourth set as the sky over Paris became increasingly darker, before Djokovic unleashed a brutal service return to break for a 5-4 lead. In an enthralling conclusion, Federer hit back for 5-5 and fought off two break points to nip ahead at 6-5 before Djokovic held for a tie break. The Serb saved two match points but was powerless to keep out the Swiss star’s 18th ace which sealed the semi-final after 3hr and 39mins of enthralling action.
Federer bursts Djokovic streak to reach final
