Federer, Wawrinka to clash in all-Swiss Australian Open semi-final

Duo defeat Mischa Zverev and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in their respective quarter-finals

MELBOURNE: Former world number one Roger Federer stormed into the semi-finals of the Australian Open with an overpowering straight-sets win over Germany's Mischa Zverev on Tuesday.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion set up a semi-final against fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 win in just 92 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

The four-time champion extended his record for most Australian Open semi-final appearances to 13 with his victory.

It will also be a record-stretching 41st Grand Slam semi-final for the Swiss legend.

"I'm happy. I played as well as I could in this tournament. I never thought I would be this good. Here I am still standing in a semi-final to play Stan," Federer said on court. "It couldn't be cooler for the both of us. I can't wait. I thought [pre-tournament] I might win a few rounds, depending on the draw, maybe fourth round or quarters. That was my call."

Federer has Swiss Davis Cup teammate Wawrinka standing in his way for a place in Sunday's final. He leads Wawrinka 18-3.

Earlier, 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 number four won 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours, 15 minutes for his eighth Grand Slam semi-final appearance.

It puts the three-time Grand Slam champion, the winner in Melbourne in 2014, just one victory away from his fourth Slam 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."

Of his next opponent, Wawrinka said: "I'm expecting Roger to play aggressive. 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, 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.