MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Top seed Novak Djokovic
and champion Stan Wawrinka set up 'The Djoker v The Man 3.0' at
Melbourne Park after impressive quarter-final victories on Wednesday,
while an ill Serena Williams moved a step closer to her 19th grand slam title.
The American, however, will first have to overcome the pure hitting of Madison Keys
after the 19-year-old ended the fairytale run of Serena's older sister
Venus, despite suffering from a thigh injury that hampered her movement.
With many suggesting prior to the tournament it could
signify an epochal shift in both games, the teenager represents the up
and comers in the semi-finals after Djokovic and Wawrinka crushed the
last hopes of 'Generation Next' in the men's draw.
Djokovic, seeking
to become the second man to win a fifth Australian Open title, beat
Canada's Milos Raonic 7-6(5) 6-4 6-2 in the late match on Rod Laver
Arena, hours after Wawrinka had easily dispatched fifth seed Kei
Nishikori 6-3 6-4 7-6(6).
"Definitely expecting a marathon like the last couple of
years. I'm sure that both of us will give our best to perform our best
tennis," Djokovic said in a courtside interview.
"We always ask for the best of each other."
It will be the third successive year Djokovic and Wawrinka
have met at the Australian Open, with the man winning those epic
clashes ultimately going on to clinch the title.
As defending champion in 2013, Djokovic prevailed 12-10 in the fifth set in their fourth round clash.
Last year, Wawrinka won the fifth set 9-7 in their
quarter-final, indicating fans on Friday should be set for another epic
encounter.
"You
know when you play Novak, especially in semi-final in a grand slam, you
have to play your best game," Wawrinka said.
"You have to play your best tennis if you want to push him. So far I'm playing great. I'm confident with my game."
PARTY POOPER
American teenager Keys proved to be the ultimate party
pooper with her victory over Venus while at the same time indicating the
mantle of American women's tennis should be in safe hands when it is
moved on from the two sisters.
Serena and Venus had been hoping to provide fans with the
first all-Williams sisters clash at a grand slam since the 2009
Wimbledon final in the semi-finals.
Keys, who was inspired at four years old to take up the
game after seeing Venus play at Wimbledon, refused to succumb to
sentimentality and demonstrated the ball striking and power hitting,
which had destroyed players of the caliber of double Wimbledon champion
Petra Kvitova, in a 29-minute first set.
An adductor injury that forced her out of the Wimbledon
third round last year, just days after she had stormed to the Eastbourne
title, however, flared up again in the second set, which brought back
some desperate memories.
"It was definitely a flashback to Wimbledon for me," Keys said
of the injury that forced her to take an injury break while trailing
4-1 in the second set.
"It was quite an overwhelming moment and scary ... and I had
the nightmare of 'I don't want this to happen again'."
Keys, now coached by former number one Lindsay Davenport,
however, showed her maturity and mental toughness once she settled to
overpower Venus and battle through the injury to advance to her first
grand slam semi-final.
"It's definitely
an amazing moment," she added. "I'm enjoying those moments for little
bits of time and then refocusing and thinking about the next round."
Keys' chances of making the final have improved with the
world number one battling the effects of a cold after a virus hit
several players at the tournament.
"I've been sick the past few days," a hoarse-sounding
Serena told reporters after her 6-2 6-2 destruction of last year's
finalist Dominika Cibulkova.
"It's just getting worse and worse. I heard it's a virus going around with a lot of the players.
"I think I caught it."
(Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
No comments:
Post a Comment