Fed fanatics mourn Roger’s loss Down Under

Watched an episode of Hot In Cleveland last night then slept for a few hours before waking up around 1 a.m. to watch Roger Federer play Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open.

With top seed Rafael Nadal out, this match felt like a final with the winner the heavy favorite to take the title.

Flipped on ESPN and Roger had lost the first set and was down a break in set two but rallied to lead 5-2.

From there, all kinds of things went wrong and the third seeded Djokovic ended up winning 7-6, 7-5, 6-4 and will face either Andy Murray or David Ferrer in Sunday’s final.

“It’s really one of the best matches I’ve played in a while,” Djokovic said after the match.

For us Fed Fanatics, it was tough to see our Roger go out that way. Even though he has won more majors than any other male player in history, we are a greedy bunch and we want to see him add more to his 6 Wimbledons, 5 US Open, 4 Australian Opens and 1 French Open.

The Swiss star had lost just three matches since Wimbledon, won five tournaments along the way and was riding a 15 match winning streak coming into the semifinal. But he was simply outplayed by Djokovic who beat him in the semifinals of the US Open in September and in the semifinals in Australia in 2008.

“It’s disappointing and it hurts in the moment itself,” Federer told reporters after the match. “I wish I could have won here again for the fifth time. But wasn’t possible tonight. It’s not the end in any way. It’s a start for many other tournaments after this. … “Every time I had slight opportunity, either I didn’t play my best or he played his best. It was a tough night from this standpoint. Those are sometimes the way matches go.”

Djokovic is a young and exciting player to watch and God knows he’s due more major titles. He’s only won one (2008 Australian Open) because either Federer or Nadal have won 21 out of the last 23 slams.

“On one side it’s good for the sport to have more players being able to win against Federer and Nadal,” Djokovic said. “All the credit to them what they have done in last five, six years. They’ve been very dominant and just a great example of champions. It was really hard to challenge them, especially in the big events where they play their best tennis. Now these things are changing a little bit, so from that perspective it’s good for the sport.”

With Federer still playing terrific at 29 and rarely injured and Nadal the reigning champ at the other three slams, I’m not sure if this result is a changing of the guard. Only time will tell.

I sure hope the Roger and Rafa show has many more performances left!

“I feel very good. I’m very optimistic about the next 15 tournaments, however many I’m playing,” Federer said. “I’ve barely lost matches lately really, so I’m happy with where my game is at, with where my condition is at. I’m really excited for what’s to come. This is obviously a bit of a blow. At the same time, I played a good tournament. I have no regrets.”