Federer thrashes Del Potro to make semis, Wozniacki dumped out by Clijsters

ROGER Federer toppled Argentine giant Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 6-3 6-2 with some exquisite shot-making to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open today.

The Swiss, chasing a 17th grand slam crown and sixth in Melbourne, was never seriously threatened in their first meeting in a major since losing to del Potro in the 2009 U.S. Open final.

In scorching heat at Rod Laver Arena, third seed Federer survived four break points before closing out the second set in his only wobble of an otherwise dominant display.

Normal service resumed, Federer broke the 11th-seeded del Potro twice to motor through the third set and sealed the match with an imperious backhand winner.

Federer will play the winner of great rival Rafa Nadal and Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych in the last four.

In the women’s draw, champion Kim Clijsters ended Caroline Wozniacki’s title hopes and her hold on the world’s top ranking when she beat the 21-year-old 6-3 7-6 to advance to a semi-final against Victoria Azarenka.

The Dane had needed to reach the semi-finals to have a chance of retaining the number one ranking, and is now projected by the WTA to slip to at least number three at the conclusion of the tournament.

Wozniacki had been world number one since October 11, 2010, though she lost it to Clijsters for one week last February, before reclaiming it again on Feb. 21.

She had held top spot for a total of 67 weeks but found herself having its validity questioned, most recently by 18-time grand slam winner Martina Navratilova, because she had not won any of the four grand slam titles.

World number two Petra Kvitova, number three Azarenka and number four Maria Sharapova all have a chance of taking the top ranking, depending on how they finish the tournament.

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