Stanislas Wawrinka ousted three-time defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday — after another grueling five-set match in their growing rivalry.
Wawrinka (No. 8) beat the world No. 2 for only the third time in 18 matches and ended Djokovic’s streak of 14 Grand Slam semifinals. The 28-year-old Swiss also exacted revenge for losses to Djokovic in the 2013 Australian Open where — a year ago — Djokovic prevailed over Wawrinka in a fourth-round match that ended 12-10 in the fifth set and went an exhausting 5 hours, 2 minutes. Their semifinal match at the US Open in September was another max-distance five-setter but was only a modest 4 hours, 9 minutes long.
Bidding for his fifth title Down Under, Djokovic lost for the first time since the U.S. Open final. He entered Tuesday with a 28-match winning streak and 13 victories in a row against top-10 opponents.
Wawrinka will face Tomas Berdych next, the first semifinal appearance here for both men. Berdych defeated David Ferrer earlier Tuesday.
#Wawrinka through to the #ausopen semis 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7 v #Djokovic pic.twitter.com/hkDboRxemr
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2014
