Clinical Federer into 43rd Slam semis
Melbourne: Defending champion Roger Federer swept into a record 14th Australian Open semi-final with a commanding straight sets win over long-time rival Tomas Berdych on Wednesday.
The second seed cruised to a 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, 6-4 win in 2hr 14min and will face unseeded South Korean Chung Hyeon on Friday for a place in the final.
The 19-time Grand Slam champion, who hasn't lost in five matches against Berdych in Melbourne, will play in his 43rd Grand Slam semi-final, a record for the post-1968 Open Era.
The Swiss legend has yet to face Chung, who has got past six-time champion Novak Djokovic and world No.4 Alexander Zverev to get to the last four.
Federer's latest victory was his 92nd in 105 matches in Melbourne to make the Australian Open his most successful Grand Slam in terms of matches won.
"I'm happy I got out of the first set. It ended up being the key of the match," he said. "I just tried to hang around, tried to play a bit more aggressive, get some rhythm going, because Tomas found that early. That's why I was under pressure. It was definitely very close, the turning point, and it ended up being for the entire match."
