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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Australian Open: Novak Djokovic beats defending champ Stan Wawrinka to reach final

Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating Stan Wawrinka in their semifinal match. (Associated Press)
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Novak Djokovic did enough to beat defending champion Stan Wawrinka in a semifinal match that lacked the intensity of their recent five-setters, setting up an Australian Open final against long-time friend and rival Andy Murray.

The top-ranked Djokovic beat Wawrinka in a peculiarly seesawing 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 match in Melbourne to ensure two members of the so-called Big Four will meet in the season-opening Grand Slam final.

Djokovic has a 100 percent winning record in finals at Melbourne Park, claiming his first Grand Slam title here in 2008 and winning three straight years from 2011 before his streak was ended in the quarterfinals last year by Wawrinka.

“There were parts of the match where I stepped in and played a game I needed to play, but parts of the match where I played too defensive and allowed him to dictate,” Djokovic said. “So, yeah, it was very emotional.”

Mattek-Sands and Safarova win doubles

American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic won the women’s doubles title in their first tournament as a combination, beating Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan and China’s Zheng Jie 6-4, 7-6 (5) in Melbourne.

It marked the first time a new pairing has won a Grand Slam title since Nathalie Dechy of France and Russia’s Dinara Safina took the 2007 U.S. Open title.