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Australian Open: Serena, Djokovic, Federer in s/finals



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Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova for the 18th time in a row to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.

The defending champion, seeded number one and chasing a 22nd Grand Slam title, saw off fifth seed Sharapova 6-4 6-1 at Melbourne Park.

The world number one, who has not lost to Sharapova in 12 years, now faces fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska.

Sharapova made it a real contest for almost an hour but eventually buckled under the American’s power.

Williams, 34, appeared to struggle with her ball toss in the morning sunshine on Rod Laver Arena as she fell 2-0 down.

In the men’s draw, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will meet in the semi-finals after straight-set victories.

Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion who has won the tournament four times, beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-4, while top seed and defending champion Djokovic saw off Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-2 6-4.

Federer had been beaten by Berdych in their past two meetings at Grand Slams, but had won their past four matches.

The Swiss fell behind early in the first and third sets but hit back immediately both times and was dominant for the most part on serve.

The 34-year-old then made a fast start to the opening-set tie-break and was in control from then on, breaking twice in the second set and making the decisive move at 4-4 in the third.

“Tomas has caused me a lot of problems over the years, but it’s been a pleasure playing against him,” said Federer.

“He’s the type of player who makes you better.”

Djokovic, chasing a sixth Australian Open title, lost just nine games as he eased past Japan’s Nishikori.

The world number seven beat Djokovic in the US Open semi-finals in 2014 but he failed to make the same impact in Melbourne.