Fernando Verdasco continued his fine run at the Australian Open by claiming the scalp of last year's runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Spaniard reaches his first Grand Slam semi-final
Fernando Verdasco continued his fine run at the Australian Open by claiming the scalp of last year's runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The Spaniard had caused a shock by knocking out Andy Murray in the fourth round and he followed that up with a quarter-final win over fifth seed Tsonga 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-3 6-2.
Verdasco will now play in his first Grand Slam semi-final - against countryman Rafael Nadal - and he fully deserves his place after a superb performance.
Verdasco won all four of his break points, while Tsonga could manage just two breaks from 13 chances - with the Spaniard's first serve able to get him out of trouble when it mattered.
It was nip and tuck in the early stages, but once Verdasco got on top in the third set he pushed on for a convincing win.
There was a predictably tight start to the match, with no breaks of serve in the first set.
Opportunity
Tsonga created four break chances but couldn't take any of them and he was made to pay in the following tie-break as Verdasco claimed it with ease.
However, the Frenchman hit back in set two, securing the first break of the match in the sixth game and then serving out to square the match.
Verdasco finally fashioned a break point of his own at the start of the third set and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands to open a 2-0 lead.
Having made the breakthrough, the Spaniard made it back-to-back breaks in Tsonga's next service game and although the fifth seed managed to retrieve one of the breaks, Verdasco managed to push on to take a 2-1 lead.
With all the momentum now with the 14th seed, he broke to love in the opening game of the fourth to leave his opponent deep in trouble.
It was a hole he was unable to drag himself out of, leaving Verdasco with a semi-final meeting with top seed Nadal, who later beat Gilles Simon in straight sets.
