22 Jan 2014

Swiss no.2 topples Djokovic in Melbourne

5:38 am on 22 January 2014

The Swiss tennis number two Stanislas Wawrinka pulled off the biggest upset of the men's draw at the Australian Open when he ended Novak Djokovic's bid for a fourth successive title in a four hour quarter-final classic last night in Melbourne.

Wawrinka snapped a 14-match losing streak to the Serbian second seed when he took the deciding set 9-7 at the end of a match studded with breathtaking rallies.

Wawrinka went close to beating Djokovic in a five-hour epic in round four last year in Melbourne, and he fell short in another five-set thriller in the semi-finals of last year's US Open.

The 28 year old Swiss now faces Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals after the Czech 7th seed beat the tenacious Spaniard David Ferrer, the third seed, in four sets.

In the women's quarter-finals the Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard, a former Wimbledon junior champion, upset Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in three sets, and China's Li Na dropped only four games in her straight sets win over the Italian Flavia Pennetta.