Melbourne: In the men’s singles, defending champion Novak Djokovic is now only one victory from his hat-trick of titles here after reaching his third consecutive final. The Serb thrashed fourth-seeded David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 29 minutes and fired a warning to Andy Murray and Roger Federer who will play the other semi-final Friday.
Djokovic, who could be the first player to win three consecutive Australian Open titles in the Open era, ran the Spaniard around the court and finished points with style and power to keep his unbeaten Grand Slam record against Ferrer. The Serb won more than twice as many points as Ferrer, stringing together 12 in a row during the second set to underline the one-way nature of the contest.
He rode a confidence wave through the third set, making spectacular winners look regulation, as he gave up just 11 points for the set. With the win, Djokovic extended his winning streak at Melbourne Park to 20.
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