Top 5 match points squandered by Roger Federer

#2 2011 US Open semi-final vs Novak Djokovic

The return that was too hot to handle

This was the second consecutive year in which year both players would lock horns in the 2011 US Open semi-finals and this time too the plot was similar to their previous encounter at the 2010 US Open semi-final. Both players prior to this Grand Slam match had a tight match at the 2011 French Open semi-final, which Federer won in four sets.

In the fifth set at 4-3, Federer broke Djokovic’s serve to love to take a crucial 5-3 lead. Serving for the match at 40-15, Federer looked well on course for another showdown with Nadal. But, as in the previous encounter, Djokovic was at his unflappable best.

Djokovic saved the first match point by whacking the return on Federer’s serve that flew like a bazooka. It was 40-30 and Federer still had a chance to close out the match on his serve. However, an unforced error, which saw Federer’s forehand hit the net cord, made it 40-40, and Federer double-faulted to surrender the game back to Djokovic.

Federer couldn’t recover from the zenith of Djokovic’s resurgence and dropped the next four games and the match.

Match Result - Djokovic won 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5