Washington, DC
24 January 2008
Unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has pulled off a stunning upset in the men's semifinals of the Australian Open in Melbourne, routing No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
Tsonga, ranked No. 38 in the world, dominated Nadal from the start to earn a spot in Sunday's final round.
He will meet the winner of the other semifinal match, which pits world No. 1 and defending champion Roger Federer of Switzerland against Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
In the women's semifinals, No. 4 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia posted a remarkable comeback victory over Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova. Hantuchova, the No. 9 seed, routed Ivanovic 6-0 in the first set of Thursday's match. The Serb found herself down 2-0 in the second set, but regained her form and went on to take the last two sets 6-3, 6-4.
Ivanovic's opponent in the women's final will be No. 5 seeded Russian Maria Sharapova of Russia, who swept past No. 3 Serbian Jelena Jankovic, 6-3, 6-1.
Sharapova - the 2004 Wimbledon and 2006 U.S. Open champion - is seeking her third career Grand Slam singles title. Ivanovic is playing in her second Grand Slam final after losing to Justine Henin of Belgium at last year's French Open final.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP.