Melbourne : Roger Federer showed class always has the last word when he let his racket do the talking to knock Nikolay Davydenko out of the Australian Open.
The Russian had reached the quarter-finals on a platform of thumping victories and good old-fashioned bluster but yesterday the Swiss maestro silenced him on the court.
For all Davydenko's pre-match banter about scared top 10 opponents, the world number one calmly recovered from a set and a break down to carve out a 2-6 6-3 6-0 7-5 victory.
"I knew I wasn't looking very good, you know. But that's the beauty of the best of five sets," Federer told reporters. "I wasn't panicking, even though I maybe would have lost the second set had I lost another point there at that stage (3-1 down).
"I knew I had time on my side," said Federer, who now faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in the final. "I don't care if I was in the positives or the negatives (with the statistics). What matters is how you play your opponent, and the wind and tactics and everything. There are so many more important things, you know."
The win gave Federer his 23rd consecutive grand slam semi-final appearance. Reuters
Chinese presence
Serena Williams and Justine Henin square off against Chinese opponents Li Na and Zheng Jie, respectively, for a place in the women's final. Serena beat Victoria Azarenka, while Li upset Venus Williams in the quarter-finals yesterday.
