MELBOURNE, Australia — Roger Federer reached the Australian Open semifinals for the 13th time in 14 years, arranging a meeting with Stan Wawrinka, a player he once mentored on how to reach these stages but now stands as perhaps his toughest hurdle here.
Federer, seeded 17th, beat 50th-ranked Mischa Zverev, 6-1, 7-5, 6-2, in 92 minutes on Tuesday night, ripping 65 winners to perforate the serve-and-volley game Zverev had used to upset top-seeded Andy Murray in the fourth round.
Federer persistently found solutions to the problems Zverev posed, including in one point midway through the third set when Federer flung up a lob, hammered down a smash and then flung up a second lob that landed on the baseline.