Australian Open Day 9: Venus Williams and Roger Federer defy age to reach semi-finals

Veteran will play fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe in last four. Stan Wawrinka also reaches semi-finals after winning heated match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

United States' Venus Williams celebrates after defeating Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their quarter-final at the Australian Open on Tuesday. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

A round-up of Tuesday’s men’s and women’s singles action from the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.

WOMEN’S SINGLES

Venus sets up all-American clash with Vandeweghe

Age-defying Venus Williams says she is living the dream after making yet another major semi-final on Tuesday, setting up an all-American clash against a rampant CoCo Vandeweghe.

Venus, 36, powered past Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-6 and into her third Australian Open semi-finals, while Vandeweghe stunned French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-0 in a blitz of big hitting.

“What can I say. Just trying to live the dream,” Venus said of her longevity, after becoming the oldest woman since a 37-year-old Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon 1994 to make the major semi-finals.

“I have no exact answer, except I do know how to play tennis, so that’s helpful. If you can get the ball in, it’s even more helpful.”

It is a remarkable feat for Venus, who made her professional debut in 1994 and is enjoying a late-career renaissance following a long battle with a rare autoimmune disorder.

She made the same round at Wimbledon last year but had not got this far at Melbourne Park since 2003, when she beat Justine Henin only to lose to sister Serena in the final.

Henin is long retired but Serena is still going strong and plays her quarter-final, against Johanna Konta, on Wednesday, with an all-Williams title match still on the cards.

Venus also made the last four at Melbourne in 2001, losing to then world No 1 Martina Hingis, another veteran who is playing doubles at this year’s Australian Open.

Despite surprise-package Vandeweghe showing imperious form, Venus is brimming with confidence and believes she can go on to win her first major since Wimbledon in 2008.

“Why shouldn’t I? I try to believe. Should I look across the net and believe the person across the net deserves it more?” she said.

“This mentality is not how champions are made. I’d like to be a champion, in particular this year. The mentality I walk on court with is: I deserve this.”

The seven-time grand slam winner is yet to drop a set in Melbourne and was composed against Pavlyuchenkova, who had knocked out 11th seed Elina Svitolina and Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded eight, on her way to the quarter-finals.

But Vandeweghe will be a different proposition.

Vandeweghe, like Venus one of the tallest women on the circuit at 6ft 1ins, she is supremely confident and in fine touch, having stunned world No 1 Angelique Kerber before upsetting Muguruza.

“I really wasn’t feeling great out there. I was nervous. I was second-guessing myself,” said the 25-year-old, whose mother was an Olympic swimmer and whose grandfather played basketball for the New York Knicks.

“But I kept the pressure on and she finally cracked. Once I got rolling in the second set it was like a freight train, you couldn’t stop it.”

It is now Vandeweghe’s best performance at a major, bettering her quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon in 2015.

The right-hander, ranked 35, has a reputation for inconsistency and she lost seven of her last 10 matches at the end of 2016. But she has in brilliant form so far this year.

She has a booming serve and phenomenal groundstrokes, with a game suited to the fast and hard courts of the Australian Open.

Venus though has no intention of being intimidated, particularly with the prospect of meeting sister Serena once again in a major final.

“To me, the semi-finals is a stepping stone, just like the other rounds. It’s an opportunity to advance,” she said.

“The tournament is by no means over.”

MEN’S SINGLES

Wawrinka beats Tsonga in heated match

Stan Wawrinka mastered former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets to reach his third Australian Open semi-final after a mid-match argument on Tuesday.

The world No 4 won 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours, 15 minutes for his eighth grand slam semi-final appearance and will next face either Roger Federer or Mischa Zverev.

It puts the three-time grand slam champion, the winner in Melbourne in 2014, just one victory away from his fourth major final.

“It’s not easy to play against him. He’s a strong player,” Wawrinka said of Tsonga. “I think [the] conditions were quite fast today. It was a bit windy. Not easy to control [the ball].

“I started to move a bit better and be a bit more aggressive from the first shot. I think that’s what made the difference.”

It was a consummate performance from Wawrinka, with three service breaks from three break points, hitting 41 winners, 21 of them on the forehand, and just 28 unforced errors.

Yet 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 interchange 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.

Of Roger Federer, his next opponent, Wawrinka said: “He’s playing so well and we are all happy to see him back on the court and also playing so well because we all enjoy to watch him.”

It was the fourth meeting between the pair at a grand slam tournament, but the first away from Roland Garros, with Wawrinka now winning three of his encounters with Tsonga.

It was also their first meeting on a hard court in almost a decade, having contested their last six encounters on clay.

Among Wawrinka’s three major triumphs is his win over Rafael Nadal in Melbourne three years ago, when he became the first player to defeat the top two seeds en route to a major title since Spaniard Sergei Bruguera won Roland Garros in 1993.

Wawrinka also won the 2015 French Open and last year’s US Open, both times conquering Djokovic.

Games went with serve in the opening set and in the tiebreaker, with Wawrinka prevailed on the first of his four set points.

Tsonga got the first break of the match in the seventh game of second set, but the Swiss broke him in his next two service games to grab a two-set lead.

Wawrinka fought off break points in the opening game of the third set before breaking the Frenchman and holding on to the break to the end.

Federer too good for Zverev

Four-time champion Roger Federer took apart Mischa Zverev 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 with a clinical display of all-court tennis to reach his 13th Australian Open semi-final in 92 minutes on Tuesday.

Chasing his 18th grand slam title, and first since 2012, the 35-year-old Federer neutered his left-handed German opponent’s serve-and-volley game to set up a last-four meeting with fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka.

Zverev had upset world No 1 and top seed Andy Murray in the fourth round but found Federer an altogether tougher proposition on Rod Laver Arena, losing the first set in 19 minutes before gradually finding the rhythm of the match.

The world No 50 contributed fully to an entertaining, if short, contest with his fine volleying and net play but Federer is no slouch in that department either and his 65th winner sent him into a 41st grand slam semi-final.

RESULTS

Men’s singles

Quarter-finals

Stan Wawrinka (SUI X4) bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA X12) 7-6, 6-4, 6-3

Roger Federer (SUI X17) bt Mischa Zverev (GER) 6-1, 7-5, 6-2

Women’s singles

Quarter-finals

Venus Williams (USA X13) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS X24) 6-4, 7-6

CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) bt Garbine Muguruza (ESP X7) 6-4, 6-0

* Agencies

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