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1/25/12 5:30 PM | Ricky Dimon
Novak Djokovic survives a brief scare and rolls over David Ferrer in straight sets on Wednesday in Melbourne. Djokovic joins the rest of the top four players in a blockbuster semifinal lineup.
Novak Djokovic cruised past David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Wednesday night. After two hours and 44 minutes of play, Djokovic joined Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray in a highly-anticipated final weekend.
Ferrer made this one competitive for two-thirds of the way, in part thanks to his opponent. An error-fest of a first set saw Djokovic convert only one of seven break chances, but one proved to be enough because the top seed saved the only break point he faced. A clutch hold at 5-4 gave Djokovic an early advantage.
Ferrer's golden chance came in the second, when Djokovic apparently sustained a hamstring injury. The fifth-ranked Spaniard recovered from an early break then led 15-30 with Djokovic serving at 4-5. Some ill-timed Ferrer errors coupled with big hitting by Djokovic from the back of the court led to a crucial hold. Djokovic then broke out of nowhere for 6-5 only to fail to serve out the set one game later.
That set the stage for a critical tiebreaker, with the general consensus that--with Djokovic struggling physically--whoever won it would be favored to win the match. The world No. 1 twice trailed by a mini-break but he erased both deficits and ran away with the 'breaker seven points to four.
From there it was all over for Ferrer, who mustered just one game in the third. Djokovic's movement only got better and better and he surrendered a mere two points in his last four service games.
Next up for the Serb is a rematch of last year's final against Murray, while Nadal and Federer will do battle in the first semifinal.
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Novak Djokovic 
There was a comical moment in the second set tie-break when Ferrer's grunting "sagged"!
stratocast51 , 1/25/12 9:10 PM