Updated 12.55
STANISLAS WAWRINKA IS through to the Australian Open semi-finals after a five-set thriller against champion Novak Djokovic.
The eighth seed will face Tomas Berdych after a 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7 win that lasted late into the Melbourne night and finished just before 11.30pm.
The epic was finally settled after four hours and an 80-minute deciding set when Djokovic’s volley drifted wide on match point.
The defeat was his first at the Australian Open since losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 2010 quarter-finals, ending a bid for four successive championships.
Wawrinka has only appeared in one previous Grand Slam semi, a five-set defeat against Djokovic at the 2013 US Open.
“He is an amazing champion but I never give up,” he said afterwards. “I am really, really, really, really, happy!”
Rick Rycroft/AP/Press Association Images
– Originally published 12.35
