The Australian Open 2020 has reached its final stage. With just 4 men left in the draw and all of them among the top 10, it is going to take some gigantic tennis to see who comes out as the title winner on 2nd February. For now both the semi-final matches should be enthralling contests. We take a look at the players who contest in these highly awaited semi-final matches and try to predict the finalists of this year’s and also this decade’s 1st Grand Slam.
Novak Djokovic v Roger Federer
The 1st semi-final of the 2020 Australian Open men’s championship promises to be a highly contested affair between 2 of the greatest players ever to grace the game of tennis. World Number 2 Novak Djokovic and World Number 3 Roger Federer who are the 2nd and 3rd seeds at this year’s Australian Open lock horns for a place in Sunday’s final to have a chance to lift the Norman Brookes trophy.
This is the 50th meeting between these 2 titans of the game. The Serb star Djokovic leads his Swiss rival head to head 26 wins to 23. Federer had a grueling path to the final, having had to face 2 five set matches, He has lost 5 sets in the tournament so far. In comparison Djokovic who is 6 years younger had a relatively easier path and should be fresher as he has so far lost only 1 set, that too in the 1st round.
The two last met in the Nitto ATP finals with Federer taking the match in 2 sets. The pair also met in the Wimbledon final last year with Novak snatching the match from Roger’s jaws. The odds are highly stacked towards the Serb. In fact the last time Federer beat Djokovic in Australia was in 2007. That is his only win against Djokovic at Melbourne Park, while the Serb has won 3 matches against Federer since then in the Australian Open.
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Roger’s last Grand Slam victory against Novak was long back in Wimbledon 2012. In the last decade Novak has been the dominant player in this rivalry. That appears unlikely to change on Thursday as the two champions meet. We should expect some tough resistance from Roger and even the match can go to 5 sets but Novak has the greater chance of prevailing in this one.
Our Prediction – Novak wins in 4 sets.
Dominic Thiem v Alexander Zverev
Two of the brightest young players in the ATP circuit Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev will collide in the 2nd semi-final of the Australian Open men’s championship. The two players have played each other 8 times with Austria’s Dominic Thiem winning 6 matches in the head to head.
The Austrian has also won the only meeting between these two at Grand Slam level. That was in the 2016 French Open in Paris. In fact the last time these two met in the Nitto finals in London, Thiem prevailed in 2 straight sets. The World Number 5 Thiem has so far lost 4 sets in the tournament. In comparison Alexander Zverev lost his only set n the tournament so far against Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.
Both players have won big titles in their young career. They are both regarded as the potential Grand Slam winners and World Number 1 players in near future. However, if we have to pick one player, it should be the Austrian Thiem. He is looking better and better as the tournament progresses.
Zverev might be on the road to resurgence but this is his 1st experience at the Grand Slam semi-final level. If it was the Masters tournament or any other best of 3, we would have given him almost equal chances. However, Thiem with his never ending energy and never say die attitude has to be the favorite to enter his 1st hard court Grand Slam final. The Austrian also has been in this situation 4 times at Roland Garros where he even went on to the final twice. That experience should come handy at the Rod Laver arena on Friday.
Our Prediction—Dominic Thiem wins in 4 sets.