Roger Federer cruised through to his eighth consecutive Australian Open semi-final with a straight sets rout of Stanislas Wawrinka.
Defending champion through to eighth consecutive Australian Open semi-final
Defending champion Roger Federer cruised through to his eighth consecutive Australian Open semi-final with a straight sets rout of Stanislas Wawrinka.
Federer must have expected a tougher test against his Swiss compatriot following Wawrinka's wins over Gael Monfils and Andy Roddick.
However the 19th seed was completely blown away as Federer raced to a 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory in one hour and 47 minutes.
Federer set the tone for the match as he broke Wawrinka in the second game - and he never looked back from there.
Wawrinka did fashion out a break chance in the second set but he wasted the opportunity and Federer piled on the misery as his head dropped.
Federer said: "I think it was a good match for me really. I started off well, was able to serve and return really well.
Battle
"I expected him to serve bigger, because the ball travels faster through the air. For some reason I was able to return him well. On my own service games I was really good, too. I think that really set the tone for a good match for me.
"I needed a good performance. I have played Stan many times and there are no real secrets out there.
"The start was crucial and it was maybe a battle for him to get used to the conditions after playing two matches at night."
Federer will now face either Tomas Berdych or Novak Djokovic - with the world No.2 denying that he is after the revenge after losing at Wimbledon and the US Open to the duo respectively last year.
"No, I am not like that," he said.
"They are great players, they hit the ball hard. I lost to both guys last year but got them back at the end of the year."
