Sorcerer Federer teaches apprentice harsh lesson

Roger Federer flattened his close buddy Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-3 6-3 to move menacingly into the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday, showing scant regard for sentimentality.

Defending champion Federer, the Melbourne second seed, brought a ruthlessly swift end to the first grand slam quarter-final contested by two Swiss men in an hour and 47 minutes.

“I prefer to play aggressive,” Federer told reporters,

“I think at crucial times it haunted me playing a bit passive instead of trying to take it to the opponent a bit more. With success sometimes you get a bit comfortable. Because it’s working, why change it?

“I was always trying to look for new ways but there were times it didn’t work against a few players, or I ran into a few players at the wrong times maybe.”

Federer, who suffered a lean spell at the grand slams after winning in Melbourne last year, credited Pete Sampras’s former coach Paul Annacone for helping him rediscover his magic touch since teaming up last July.

The resurgent Swiss, winner of the 2010 World Tour Finals and in Doha in the run-up to the Australian Open, blew Wawrinka off court in a blur of winners.

“I seem to have the right game plan,” said the 16-times grand slam champion after extending his winning streak to 15 matches and reaching his eighth consecutive Melbourne semi-final.

“Obviously with the many wins I’ve had in the last four or five months, it’s been much easier.”

Cruelly Lop-Sided

Federer won a doubles gold medal alongside Wawrinka at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but his eighth win in nine meetings with the man he fondly calls “Stanli” was cruelly lop-sided.

Ripping winners from all angles, Federer tore through the first set in just 29 minutes before seizing complete control by adding the second with a kicking backhand.

Master broke apprentice again at the start of the third, triggering an outburst from Wawrinka, who smashed his racquet on the court in a fury, leaving it a mangled mess.

Mercifully, Wawrinka was quickly back in the safety of the locker room, Federer ending things with another biting backhand.

Federer, bidding to become only the second man to win five Australian Open titles, faces either third seed Novak Djokovic or number six Tomas Berdych in the last four.

“Roger always had an answer today,” shrugged a deflated Wawrinka. “He was just too good for me. Roger is always the same — you know he can win this tournament.”