Stan trumps Djoker |
The eighth seed won the match 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7.
Twelve months after their memorable five-set battle at Melbourne Park, the pair again provided an intriguing battle for the capacity crowd, except this year the result reversed after Djokovic's 10-7 win in the fifth set last year.
Djokovic began the match the better of the two players, as Wawrinka offered up 16 unforced errors and the Serb cruised to the first set 6-2 in a matter of just 31 minutes.
However, the Swiss eighth seed found his stride and put huge pressure on the defending champion in the following two sets.
Playing aggressively and accurately he took the second and third sets 6-4 and 6-2 respectively, leaving Djokovic looking frustrated and tentative, as he fell behind 2-1 on the scoreboard.
But, the four-time champion regained composure immediately in the fourth set, breaking Wawrinka's serve early in the set and eventually claiming it 6-3.
As they had done, twelve months ago, the pair went to the fifth set, and after trading early breaks it was Djokovic who eventually cracked in the sixteenth match of the set, giving him passage to his second Australian Open semifinal.
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