Federer looks to join Andy Murray in Australian Open Final

With Andy Murray beating Marin Cilic to reach the second Grand Slam final of his career, he can unwind today and study his potential opponents. The second semi final of the Men’s Australian Open takes place today, with world number one Roger Federer playing surprise semi finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Frenchman Tsonga, the quiet man of tennis, overcame the World Number 3 Novak Djokovic in the Quarter Final, when many had expected easy passage for the higher seed. Djokovic had to leave the court at one point because he felt ill, and had been complaining of illness before, during and after the match. That’s not to take anything away from Tsonga, who battled back well to steal a victory.

It will now be time for the “Fed Express” to deliver again, with a place in the final at stake. The Swiss star had to overcome a blistering start by Nikolay Davydenko in their Quarter Final match, but turned on the style from being a set down to ease his way to a 3-1 win. This is Federer’s 23rh consecutive semi final appearance in Grand Slam competition. The early struggles in his Quarter Final match, where there was an inordinate amount of unforced errors from Federer, will have probably steeled the World Number One from any thoughts of cruising to the final. But with some fine basic groundwork, Federer slipped into gear, finding his rhythm and showing why is the World Number One. Being able to step it up when it matters most is the mark of a Champion. He goes into the semi final as strong favourite ahead of Tsonga, who is ranked 10th in the world.

Roger Federer to win: 1/5 at Blue Square
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win: 5/1 at Boylesports

Catch the semi final action on Bet365’s live streaming service. For funded account holders, all of the action from Melbourne has been free to watch on their excellent website.