TENNIS/Australian Open:As Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer posed at the net for the obligatory pre-match photo, the young Serb rested his hand on the small of the world number one's back.

It was a tiny gesture, but one that spoke volumes about Djokovic's confidence, signifying his feeling of equality with the great man - obviously not in terms of achievements and titles won, but regarding the here and now.

The 20-year-old clearly felt he was ready to bring Federer's run of 10 successive grand slam finals to an end, but no one was prepared for the nature of the 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 defeat.

So the Australian Open will hail a new champion tomorrow. The chances are it will be Djokovic, the world number three, for whom it will be his second successive major final, having lost to Federer in the US Open last autumn.

But the crowd seems sure to be behind Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the young Frenchman with the Muhammad Ali looks who has captured the imagination of all who have watched him with his dynamic attacking play and elan.

It will be the young improviser (Tsonga) against the younger master technician (Djokovic), and that could prove a heady mix. They have not played each other before, so no one can be the least sure how they will match up.

It could be explosive.

That could not be said of Federer. Whereas Tsonga obliterated Rafael Nadal in his semi-final, Djokovic watched as Federer self-destructed. This is not to say that the 20-year-old Serb did not play well.

In particular he served beautifully, spearing the ball time after time over the highest part of the net into Federer's backhand. But it was the fragmentary nature of the world number one's forehand that so shocked everyone.

The zip was almost entirely missing and he buried shot after shot into the net, and low into the net at that. Rarely, over the last five years, has the Swiss played so poorly and never at this stage of a major championship.

When Federer was beaten by Marat Safin in the 2005 semi-final the huge Russian played the match of his life and the result might have gone either way. Against Djokovic, Federer was suddenly as tentative as he often has been against Nadal on clay.

Once he had failed to serve out the first set at 5-4, a game that included three horrendously mis-hit forehands, it seemed that the self-belief leached out of the champion as quickly as the light faded from the city skies.

No one can be sure how much the stomach illness, which prevented him playing his usual warm-up exhibition in Kooyong, affected Federer.

Certainly he did not move as well as he normally does and this affected his shot making. When he went for the turbo-charger nothing kicked in.

"The illness might have had an effect, I don't know. I definitely did not feel as quick. But I don't want to blame this defeat too much on my own play. He came up with shots at the right time and he deserves to be in the final."

Normally, Federer plays the big points so well and this was an aspect that was missing in this tournament. He only squeezed through against another Serb, Janko Tipsarevic, in the third round, winning 10-8 in the fifth.

"I've created a monster. People expect me to win every tournament," he said.

Something similar happened to Pete Sampras and, although Federer did not talk about the pressure on him as he closes in on the American's all-time record of 14 grand slam titles, he would not be human if it did not affect him.

Perhaps losing here, where he has won the title for three of the last four years, may indirectly help him win the French Open, the one major to elude him. Or perhaps Australia has witnessed the changing of the guard.

All that is certain is that Djokovic and Tsonga will be the names on everyone's lips this weekend. The Frenchman has never been in a singles final as a professional, never mind won a title, yet here he is one match away from being the first man from France to win a grand slam title since Yannick Noah at Roland Garros in 1983.

It would be extraordinary.

Djokovic, who also reached the semi-finals in Paris and at Wimbledon last year, has everything in his favour and is indisputably the current third-best player in the world. And yet Tsonga, (22), who lost nearly two years with a chronic back injury, has the kind of big-serving, net-attacking game that can upset the best of players and the best of plans.

And his confidence is sky high after his brutal destruction of Nadal, achieved with a brio that was wonderful to behold.

It will be a different sort of pressure for Djokovic who, unlike against Federer, will now be expected to win.

"Tsonga is just an amazing athlete and we both have nothing to lose but it is a little strange to reach the final of a slam as a 20-year-old and to be the favourite," Djokovic said.

"Obviously Tsonga is living the dream and for him it's simply a fantastic achievement. It's going to be interesting to see who handles the pressure better, but I'm confident about winning."

Djokovic is well aware of the dangerous trap that may open up for him tomorrow. He has only one day to prepare and to adjust mentally to the fact he has beaten the best player in the world, but has not, as yet, won the title.

Two Swedes, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg, won the title here in the Open era as teenagers and, if Djokovic defeats Tsonga, he would be the third youngest men's champion.

The Serb is remarkably mature and has an iron will. Tsonga is in unknown territory but it is by no means beyond him to knock Djokovic's wise head clean off his young shoulders.