Stanislas Wawrinka overcomes Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach final four

Stanislas Wawrinka has defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets to reach the semi-final stage of the Australian Open.

The fourth seed, aiming to make it back-to-back Grand Slam wins following victory at the US Open, came out on top 7-6(2) 6-4 6-3 in Melbourne.

A tight opening set was edged by Wawrinka, who exchanged words with his opponent after taking the tie-break with five points on the spin.

Tsonga did put up a fight as he earned the first break of the contest in the seventh game of the second set, but Wawrinka - victorious here in 2014 - earned two breaks of his own in succession to create some breathing space.

The only break of the final set went the way of the Swiss in the second game, meaning a straightforward victory in the end and a potential meeting with compatriot Roger Federer in the next round.

Federer takes on unseeded German Mischa Zverev - the conqueror of Andy Murray - in his quarter-final tie.