A resurgent Roger Federer weathered a belated challenge from Andy Murray at the Australian Open to win 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 and set up a mouthwatering semi-final with rival Rafa Nadal.
Stingy on serve and dominant at the net, the 17-times grand slam champion wobbled when serving out for the match at 5-4 in the third set and was dragged into a tiebreak in an atmosphere of unrelenting tension at Rod Laver Arena.
Battling fatigue, Murray saved two match-points to keep his bid for a third grand slam title alive but met ever stiffer resistance from the imperious Swiss who attacked his serve with abandon in the final set.
Having saved a raft of break points, the 26-year-old crumbled at 4-3 to concede the decisive break and Federer made no mistake on his third match point, sealing the thriller with an ace after three hours and 20 minutes.
Al Jazeera
