Melbourne: Roger Federer was just one step away from his first Grand Slam final in 18 months on Tuesday after he demolished giant-killer Mischa Zverev to set up an Australian Open semi-final with Stan Wawrinka.
Federer, 35 and considered past his prime after an injury-ruined 2016, rolled back the years with a masterful 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 win in just 92 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
The four-time champion will next take on his Swiss Davis Cup teammate and world No. 4 Wawrinka in what promises to be an enthralling semi-final showdown.
Federer, to his surprise, has now won five matches in his comeback from a six-month injury break, with hopes rising of a record-extending 18th Grand Slam title in Melbourne.
“I felt I was always going to be dangerous on any given day in a match situation. But obviously as the tournament would progress, maybe I would fade away with energy,” Federer said.
“I think now that I’m in the semis, feeling as good as I am, playing as good as I am, that’s a huge surprise to me.
“If someone would have told me I’d play in the semis against Stan, never would I have called that one for me. For Stan, yes, but not for me.”
It will be the Swiss legend’s record 13th Australian semi-final appearance and 41st Grand Slam semi-final.
It was a dominant performance from Federer, hitting 65 winners to just 13 unforced errors and breaking left-hander Zverev’s serve six times.
“I think it definitely went as good as it possibly could have gone,” Federer said. “I think I played great. Mischa has had a wonderful tournament.”
Zverev, ranked 50, had pulled off one of the major upsets of the tournament with a fourth-round win over world No. 1 Andy Murray, and he didn’t play badly against Federer, making only 13 unforced errors.
The big-hitting Wawrinka mastered former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours, 15 minutes for his eighth Grand Slam semi-final appearance.
So often Wawrinka has been pushed into the background by the dazzling achievements of 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer, but he gets one of his rare chances for a prestige victory on Thursday.
“Yeah, for sure now I’m more confident with myself. When I step on the court, doesn’t matter who I play, I know what I have to do if I want to win,” Wawrinka said.
“For sure, against Roger, it’s always special because he’s so good. He’s the best player of all time. He has an answer for everything.
“But I have managed to beat him in a Grand Slam, so we’ll see. Most important is that I step on the court and I play my best tennis.”
It was a consummate performance from Wawrinka against Tsonga in an at-times feisty encounter, with three service breaks from three break points, 41 winners, 21 of them on the forehand, and just 28 unforced errors.
There were some tense moments between the two with an extraordinary squabble breaking out after Wawrinka took the opening set in a tiebreaker.
During the terse conversation in French, Wawrinka was heard to tell Tsonga, “You’re the one who’s looking and talking to me” and then, “Relax, it’s just a tennis match.”
The exchange follows an incident at the 2014 Davis Cup final when the French team confronted Wawrinka over a comment he made during Switzerland’s victory in Lille.
