Federer eased past Tomas Berdych 7-6(4) 6-2 6-4 while fourth seed Radwanska thrashed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-3 to reach her second semi-final at Melbourne Park.
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On the men’s side, Roger Federer kept his hopes of another grand slam success alive, setting up a potential semi-final with tournament favourite Novak Djokovicl.
At the Australian Open on Tuesday, Williams beat Sharapova for the 18th straight time, 6-4, 6-1, to gain a spot in the semifinals.
Williams’s win over Sharapova was the marquee match of the day, improving her record to 19-2 in a rivalry that goes back to 2004. “She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players”.
“I think it’s more (about hitting) a reset button because I think I’ve played a lot of tennis in the last four or five weeks”.
“She played a really good second set, returned well and really got me on the back foot”.
The Russian had racked up a career-high 21 aces in her fourth-round match but her serve deserted her when she needed it most in the 10th game and Williams broke to win the first set before racing away with the second.
“She is an incredibly intense, focused player”, Williams said of Sharapova post-match. You know, she (Sharapova) always brings in something new and something special. “It will be a good match”, Williams predicted. We played two grand slam finals past year. “I don’t see myself playing anything before Indian Wells (in March)”.
The American said despite having won the previous 17 matches against Sharapova, the 18th straight win was full of fight, and the scoreline wasn’t indicative of the struggle on court.
“She played quite explosive”, Sharapova said. Williams, the oldest world number one in WTA history, is often a slow starter and Sharapova made the most of it to hold for a 2-0 lead as the top seed made a string of errors. Despite remaining an invincible force, the driven American said she had learned to relax and was enjoying her tennis greatly now that the clock was ticking on her career.
Djokovic came out on top when the pair played in last year’s finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, and the suspicion remains that the Serbian, six years Federer’s junior, holds the physical advantage over five sets.
“It’s motivating”, Sharapova said of her loss to Williams.
Nishikori looked well off his game and lost his service at 3-2 in the first set with a badly miscued double-fault.
Sharapova was undone Tuesday by Williams’ huge serve – some of them fired down at more than 200 kph (166 mph), with 13 aces. She had a chance to tie Graf’s mark at last year’s U.S. Open, but lost in the semifinals.
Djokovic, who is pursuing a record sixth Australian Open title, will now face Switzerland’s Roger Federer after the third seed ended the challenge of Tomas Berdych.
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Thursday’s semi-final promises to be a test of Djokovic’s continued dominance of men’s tennis, after his achievement in losing only one Grand Slam match last season.
