Djokovic, Federer advance to Australian Open semifinal

“It’s motivating”, Sharapova said of her loss to Williams.

Williams was not at her blistering best, with her forehand and first serve both well below par, but it is ominous for the rest of the draw that there is still so much more to come. Asked what the secret was to her longevity, she replied: “I honestly have no idea”.

Williams’s semifinal opponent on Thursday will be No. 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, from Poland, who defeated Carla Suárez Navarro of Spain, 6-1, 6-3, in the first quarterfinal Tuesday.

Williams, 34, appeared to struggle with her ball toss in the morning sunshine on Rod Laver Arena as she fell 2-0 down.

Williams then spoke of a different approach to her tennis this year.

Williams’ win over Sharapova was the marquee match of the day, improving her record to 19-2 in a rivalry that goes back to 2004.

An error-strewn service game from Williams saw her broken immediately and raised the prospect of a thrilling contest, however back-to-back double faults from Sharapova allowed her opponent to level shortly afterwards.

“Right now I have nothing to lose”, Radwanska said.

Roger Federer advanced to his 39th Grand Slam semifinal, beating Tomas Berdych 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4.

Radwanska said she had little interest in scouting the Williams-Sharapova match.

Having reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for another year, it seems only complacency or a bad day at the office will stop Serena Williams from winning a seventh Australian Open title and 22nd Grand Slam title overall.

Serena Williams, with 21 grand slam titles in her trophy cabinet, thinks she has nothing left to prove to anyone and just wants to have fun for the remainder of her career. I knew everything was going to come back to me.

“Tomas has caused me a lot of problems over the years, but it’s been a pleasure playing against him, he’s the type of player who makes you better”.

The 2008 champion identified her inability to hold her serve at 4-5 in the opening set as a turning point. Unfortunately, leg cramps set in for Friedsam, and Radwanska pulled out a tough win.

Notoriously cagey about injuries, Williams said it had been nothing more than a bit of treatment for food poisoning.

Sharapova’s disappointment on Tuesday was impossible to hide, especially after a strong first set, but the 28-year-old said that she’s looking forward to the challenge of facing Williams again soon.

The points were short early in the set, but as the match progressed the rallies got longer and longer.

Federer also has some inspiration in his next match against Djokovic.

Djokovic, the No. 1 seed, swept past the aggressive Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-2 6-4 in the night session.

A Wimbledon finalist in 2012, Radwanska is in a Grand Slam semifinal for the fifth time in her career.

Meanwhile, the other two women’s quarter-finals will be played today when Angelique Kerber tackles Victoria Azarenka; that is then followed by a duel between the two surprise packets of the Open in Johanna Konta and Zhang Shuai.