Impressive Federer sets up Wawrinka semi-final
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
Four-time champion Roger Federer coasted into the Australian Open semi-finals with a straight-set defeat of unseeded Mischa Zverev.
The 35-year-old reached the last four in Melbourne for a 13th time with a 6-0 7-5 6-2 win over Zverev, who upset world number one Andy Murray on Sunday.
Federer, seeded 17th as he seeks an 18th Grand Slam title, faces compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the last four.
Fourth seed Wawrinka beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-2.
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Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2014.
The 31-year-old has since added victories at the French Open in 2015 and the US Open last September, and is rated by many as the favourite in Melbourne following surprise defeats for Murray and Novak Djokovic.
Wawrinka fired up after argument
Wawrinka edged a tight opening set against Tsonga, with the pair exchanging words after the tie-break.
“What did you say? You’re the one looking at me and talking to me. What are you looking for?” Wawrinka said to Tsonga in French. “Come on, let it go. Did I look at you once?”
It appeared as though Tsonga was fighting back when he finally broke serve to lead 4-3 in the second set, but Wawrinka snuffed out the danger with two successive breaks for a two-set lead.
An early break was enough to give Wawrinka the final set and he closed out a straightforward win to reach an eighth Grand Slam semi-final.
On the possibility of facing friend and compatriot Federer, he said: “Playing in a semi here is always special – I won my first Grand Slam here in font of amazing fans. If it’s against Roger, I hope a few will cheer for me.”
Asked about the exchange after the first set, Tsonga replied: “Sometimes it happens. We can talk during the game. Nothing special, yeah.
“We just spoke about things that I think is only between him and me, and that’s it.”