Serena Williams beats Sharapova; Federer advances to semis

The World No. 1 was seen by the tournament doctor twice and appeared to be given a fruit bar – her coach Patrick Mouratoglou told reporters she was dizzy; Williams said she’d suffered from food poisoning a “few days ago” – but even an under-the-weather Williams can win grand slams.

Williams is the overwhelming favorite, and not just based on recent form.

The world number five, however, had her chances here, most notably with two break points at the end of the first set, but Williams delivered when it mattered most and it was one-way traffic thereafter. She continued her flawless streak in Australian Open semifinals, and she has won all six finals she’s contested at Melbourne Park.

“I definitely block it out”, Williams said.

“Sometimes I’m on the last flight back out to the US”. “It’s not a stat that’s set in stone — I still have to win two matches”. She was two matches away from a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 when she lost to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals.

“When I play her, I know automatically I have to step up my game”, said Williams, a 21-time major victor. “At the start of the second set I wanted to play the way I have been doing to get to the quarter-finals”.

Following that, defending champion Serena Williams will attempt to stay in the hunt for a seventh singles title when she plays Agnieszka Radwanska.

Kerber is the only woman left who can preserve Graf’s grand slam record.

With Steffi Graf’s Open-era record of 22 major titles within sight at the Australian Open, and Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 on the horizon, she has no plans to hang up her racquet.

Dismissing the idea that this might be her 16th and final appearance at the year’s first grand slam – “Hopefully not, unless you know something I don’t” she said – Williams spoke of a different approach to her tennis this year.

Williams’ win over fourth-seeded Radwanska provided yet another reminder of her dominance in the women’s game. “I think she sent me a text message, but I don’t know what she wrote yet”.

“She took out a really tough opponent in Victoria”.

“You can’t underestimate Kerber. I was just standing there kind of watching her playing”, Radwanska added.

There was a late rally as Sharapova held and then had two break points at 5-1, but the comeback lasted only a moment, as a crashing Williams forehand sealed progress in an hour and 32 minutes. Williams had 13 aces, three double-faults, hit 31 winners to 11, and broke Sharapova’s serve four times. The 28-year-old star admitted Williams is a source of inspiration for other women on the tour.

“She goes on court and she just wants to kill it. Going like full power for everything”, Radwanska said. “Personally, I didn’t think I’d be playing at this age”.

Williams remained unbeaten in nine matches against Radwanska, whom she beat in the 2012 Wimbledon final.

With the roof on Rod Laver Arena closed because of a thunderstorm closing in, the most obvious noise in the first set was the chirping of trapped birds who’d taken shelter in the stadium.

Serena Williams cruised into the semi-final stage of the Australian Open with a straight sets win (6-4 6-1) against Maria Sharapova in Melbourne.

Jamie Murray and Brazil’s Bruno Soares are through to the men’s doubles final after a 6-3, 6-1 win over the French team of Adrian Mannarino and Lucas Pouille.

When the men’s draw for the tournament was made, eyes were drawn to a potential Roger Federer-Novak Djokovic clash in the semifinals.