MOSCOW, January 24 (R-Sport) – Top-ranked Novak Djokovic on Thursday kept alive his chances of becoming the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian Open titles with a semifinal thrashing of David Ferrer.

The Serbian star will face Andy Murray or Roger Federer in Sunday's final after overcoming the Spaniard 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in just 89 minutes.

As usual, strong serving and excellent net play propelled Djokovic to success, winning 91 percent of first-serve points and 81 percent at the net.

Ferrer flourished only at the start of the match, taking a 2-1 lead before Djokovic won five consecutive games to take the first set.

Djokovic stormed through the rest of the match without giving his opponent a single chance to break.

In the women’s draw, world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka will defend her title against sixth seed Li Na of China in Saturday's final.