Roger Federer hints at retirement after Australian Open defeat to Djokovic

Novak Djokovic extended his Grand Slam victory streak against Roger Federer to six in a row after a 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-3 victory on Thursday night.

This was the 50th encounter between the two tennis legends. The 38-year-old Swiss, despite suffering from a painful groin injury and exhaustion because of a draining five-setter, seemed to come prepared. He put up a good fight in the first set before conceding on the tie-break.

However, it was the Serb who had the last laugh as he breezed through the second and third sets. He secured his spot in the history books with a record eighth appearance in the Australian Open final

Djokovic will now attempt to win his eighth Australian Open title when he plays either Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev in the final on Sunday.

In terms of head-to-head comparison, Djokovic now leads Federer 27-23, which includes 11-6 at majors.

After qualifying for the final, Djokovic said "Well, it could have definitely gone a different way, if he used those breakpoints. He started off really well. I was pretty nervous at the beginning. I just want to say respect to Roger for coming out tonight. He was obviously hurt. Wasn't at his best. I managed to dig my way back. It was very important to win that first set."

Meanwhile, Federer refused to confirm whether he would be back in Melbourne for next year's Australian Open. He claimed that it is tough to predict the future, especially when he's aging.

However, the Swiss didn't speak directly about retirement. Instead, he said he is confident and happy about his training regime. This year's Australian Open seemed to be a turbulent one for the former World no.1 Swiss, although he had to face a seeded player only in the semi-final.

Federer struggled to maintain his full dominance on the court during the tournament, as John Millman and Tennys Sandgren forced him the full five sets and Marton Fucsovics also won a set.

Federer claimed to be happy with his performance, especially the way he returned after his encounters against Millman and Sandgren.

Djokovic now has the opportunity to move close to Federer's all-time highest men's majors title tally. If he wins the Australian Open, the Joker will have 17 Grand Slam titles to his name, only 3 short of Federer.