Fluid Federer wins 1,000th match for semi-final spot

By Bill Scott Jan 24, 2012, 9:18 GMT

Melbourne - Fluid Roger Federer eased effortlessly to another record of a charmed career as the Swiss won his 1,000 match on Tuesday, defeating Juan Del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to glide into the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

The world number three, aged 30, set up a semi with either rival Rafael Nadal or Czech Tomas Berdych, with the Swiss playing in his 30th Grand Slam semi, one less than the all-time mark of Jimmy Connors.

Federer, winner of the record 16 Grand Slam singles trophies, controlled Argentine Del Potro with relative ease to win for the second time since losing to the South American in a 2009 US Open final shock.

The Swiss now stands 8-2 in their series after earning his 232nd win at a major.

'I'm happy, it was a great match,' said the winner, a four-time champion at Melbourne Park. 'It was tough with the sun and shade across the court, but it was a high-quality match.

'I know how hard he can hit, but I was able to manoeuvre him. It was a good match for me and I hope to keep it up.

Besides winning match number 1,000, Federer also won the 2,000th set of his career by claiming the first in the contest.

On the women's side, Kim Clijsters took another huge step in her title defence,with the Belgian knocking out top seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) and putting the women's number one ranking in play.

The 11th-seeded Clijsters denied her Danish opponent after Wozniacki mounted a fightback from a set and 5-2 down, eventually taking the second set into a tiebreaker.

Wozniacki's loss means that the top-ranked player for the past two seasons will be replaced, with number two Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova all in the chase.

'Obviously it's never fun to lose, but you learn more from your losses than you do from your wins,' said Wozniacki. 'I'll just go back and practise and try to come back even better.'

Wozniacki remains without a Grand Slam title. She lost as Clijsters pounded a winner into the open court to earn a final-four match with Azarenka.

'It was important to stay focused one point at a time. I was the best I could be,' said Clijsters, who took almost constant icing treatment on the ankle she rolled in her previous match against Li Na.

Clijsters had been working with her personal travelling physio in the past 48 hours since upsetting China's Li.

'I'm very happy with the way I was able to move. It was so hot out there, as well, really tough. I think they were some of the toughest conditions I've ever played in. It was good to win in two sets,' she said.

Azaranka, the third-seed from Belarus, secured a place in her second career Grand Slam semi-final with a 6-7 (0-6), 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Agnieszka Radwanska, her 10th victory in a row this year after taking the Sydney title.

Azarenka needed a massive turnaround after taking a 7-0 hammering in the first-set tiebreaker against the Polish eighth seed Radwanska. She then proceeded to reel off seven games in a row, levelling the sets at one apiece and earning a lead in the third.

She broke Radwanska for 3-1 in the third set to provide the margin for victory in a shade over two hours.