Djokovic Ousts Federer from Aussie Open

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25 January 2008

Third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia has pulled off the second major upset in the men's semifinals of the Australian Open in Melbourne, beating world No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland 7-5, 6-3, 7-6.

Djokovic's stunning win ends Federer's hopes of winning his third consecutive Australian Open title, as well as his streak of reaching 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals. The Serbian served 13 aces and had 50 winners in the match.

This is Federer's first straight sets loss in a Grand Slam tournament since losing in the third round of the 2004 French Open.

Djokovic will face unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday's championship match. Both men are seeking their first Grand Slam title. Tsonga routed No. 2  Spaniard Rafael Nadal in straight sets on Thursday.

Ukrainian sisters Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko won the women's doubles title Friday. They rallied from a first set loss to beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Shahar Peer of Israel, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. It was the first time the Bondarenkos had won a doubles title in their 38th tournament playing together.

The women's Australian Open final will be played Saturday 0200 UTC. Fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia will take on No. 5 Russian Maria Sharapova.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP .