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Roger Federer coasts into semi-finals of Australian Open

Roger Federer beats Mischa Zverev in straight sets to advance through to the last four of the Australian Open, where he will face Stanislas Wawrinka.

Roger Federer is through to the semi-final stage of the Australian Open for a 13th time after easing to a 6-0 7-5 6-2 win over Mischa Zverev.

The unseeded German, who shocked tournament favourite Andy Murray in the fourth round of the competition, fell in straight sets against a dominant Federer in Melbourne.

Compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka now stands in Federer's way of an 18th Grand Slam crown after overcoming Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the other last-eight showdown in Melbourne.

Federer, made the favourite with many bookies to now go all the way in his first competitive event for six months, took the first set in style by earning the only two breaks of serve in the second and fourth games.

Zverev had put up a brave battle to make it this far, and he was not yet done as a break in the fourth game of the second set left him on course to potentially level things up.

It was not to be, though, as his Swiss opponent battled back well to take six of the next eight games with the help of five unforced errors.

The third and final set proved to be the longest of all for Federer, lasting just short of 40 minutes, as Zverev saved five break points in the seventh game before finally caving and giving the fan favourite a chance to serve for the match.

Federer did exactly that to make it through to yet another semi-final Down Under, where he remains on track for a fifth title and a first since 2010.

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