Novak Djokovic (3) will play Roger Federer (2) in the Australian Open 2011 Semi-Final after both players won through their quarter-final matches in fine style.
Federer saw off Swedish hopeful Wawrinka (19) in straight sets, winning 6-1 6-3 6-3, before Djokovic produced a similarly impressive performance in removing Czech Tomas Berdych 3-0, with the scoreline 6-1 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.
The result means that the bottom half of the draw has gone with seeding for the tournament.
Meanwhile, in the top half of the draw, it looks on course to be largely business as usual, too, as Rafael Nadal (1) could well be facing Andy Murray (5) in the other Semi – the only notable absentee from the quarter-finals being Sweden’s Robin Soderling (4) who regularly swaps places with Murray for fourth best in the World. Soderling was put out in the Fourth Round by Ukrainian, Alexandr Dolgopolov.
The draw is shaping up to provide an entertaining pair of Semi-Finals and, perhaps, the 1 v 2 final everyone, almost, expects, in Grand Slams these days. But, for this to happen, Federer has his work cut out to remove Djokovic, who has been impressive in all but the briefest of spells in this year’s tournament. Nadal, too, must, one feels, overcome an Andy Murray who looks to have added a marginally more business-like manner to his obvious hunger since the turn of the New Year.
Now that we approach the business-end of the second week, Australian Open 2011 is looking every bit as exciting as tennis fans had hoped it would be.
In This Story: Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 2 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Nadal has won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the second-most in history for a male player, as well as 35 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, 21 ATP Tour 500 titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles and the 2016 Olympic gold medal in doubles. In addition, Nadal has held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 209 weeks, including being the year-end No. 1 five times.
In majors, Nadal has won a record twelve French Open titles, four US Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and one Australian Open title, and won at least one Grand Slam every year for a record ten consecutive years (2005–2014). Nadal has won 85 career titles overall, including the most outdoor titles in the Open Era (83) and a record 59 titles on clay. With 81 consecutive wins on clay, Nadal holds the record for the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Nadal has been involved in five Davis Cup titles with Spain, and currently has a 29-win streak and 29–1 record in singles matches at the event. In 2010, at the age of 24, he became the seventh male player and the youngest of five in the Open Era to achieve the singles Career Grand Slam. Nadal is the second male player after Andre Agassi to complete the singles Career Golden Slam, as well as the second male player after Mats Wilander to have won at least two Grand Slams on all three surfaces (grass, hard court and clay).
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