Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic has defeated 16-time grand slam champion Roger Federer to reach the US Open final, where he will face top-ranked Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic's 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 win stopped Federer's bid for a seventh consecutive US Open finals appearance at Flushing Meadows.
Federer went into the match as the favourite but struggled with his serve and failed to convert his two late opportunities to clinch the victory.
Djokovic, who denied Federer on two match points, has lost 14 of 21 matches against Nadal, who ousted Russian 12th seed Mikhail Youzhny in an earlier semi-final.
After the match, Djokovic struggled to explain how he turned the tables on his US Open nemesis.
"To be honest I was just closing my eyes and hitting forehand as fast as I can on the match point."
He said it was just a couple of points that decided the winner.
