Australian Open: Milos Raonic advances to semifinals with win over Gael Monfils

Murray will be facing off against big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic, who continued his run of red-hot form on Wednesday night with an impressive win over Frenchman Gael Monfils.

British No. 1 Johanna Konta has reached her very first semifinal appearance of a tennis grand slam and became the first woman in the United Kingdom in over 30 years to go that far.

While Jamie’s brother Andy looks to book a Sunday showdown with Novak Djokovic, Britain already has one player into a singles final this weekend after Gordon Reid beat Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez 6-3 6-7 (6/8) 9-7 in the last four of the wheelchair event.

Six-time champion Serena Williams and No. 4-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska will meet in the other women’s semifinal, also today.

He matches up well against No. 2-ranked Murray – they’re 3-3 in head-to-heads.

Azarenka led 5-2 in the second set and had five set points to force a decider but Kerber came roaring back to seal victory.

The 28-year-old, buoyed by a new-found self-belief inspired by fellow German Steffi Graf, proved too hot to handle for Konta as she won 7-5 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.

“What’s happened with Jo I think has come as a surprise to everyone”.

“I think she’s going to be consistently in the quarters and semis of majors if she stays healthy because she is that good as a player and she works hard enough”. “We played some brutal rallies at the end of the second set and the beginning of the third”.

Azarenka had lost just 11 games in her four matches prior to meeting Kerber and was seen as the main threat to Serena Williams’ relentless march to a 22nd Grand Slam crown. “At the end, when I had match point, I had it a little bit more in my mind, but it’s just an awesome feeling to be here in the semifinals for the first time”.

“I think just perseverence throughout it. I think I just had a lot of opportunities even in that set that I lost, didn’t make the most of it but I just said to myself, keep creating the opportunities and hopefully it goes your way”.

Germany’s Angelique Kerber celebrates after victory in her women’s singles match against Belarus’s Victoria Azarenka on day ten of the 2016 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne yesterday.

After some well-earned rest, Konta will reset her sights on Great Britain’s Fed Cup matches in Israel, where Judy Murray’s team will be looking for promotion to the second tier of world group nations.

“I played against a better player today who earned her right into a Grand Slam final”.

“Steffi is a champion”.

“I don’t feel fresh as a daisy”, she said.

The 26-year-old, however, reproduced some of the tennis that had made her world number one over the last three weeks in Australia, with many tipping her as a potential victor of the year’s opening grand slam.

“I obviously didn’t start great”, she said. “Then I felt like started to play better as the match went on”. “I try to keep things in perspective”. I mean, I was playing my game from the first point.

Kerber actually hit with Graf previous year in Las Vegas where Graf lives with her husband, four-time Australian Open champion Andre Agassi. “Angie is a fighter”. She’s showed that time and time again over the last numerous years.