MELBOURNE, Jan 28 — Defending champion Novak Djokovic set up a semi-final showdown with "Big Three” rival Roger Federer at the Australian Open today with a thumping 6-4 6-3 7-6(1) victory over Canada’s hapless Milos Raonic.

Federer had saved seven match points in a five-set thriller with American battler Tennys Sandgren only hours before but there was no such luck of a second successive belter for the fans at Rod Laver Arena, with Djokovic at his ruthless best.

The floodlit match between Raonic, one of the tour’s most vexing servers, against one of its most brilliant returners had promised, at the least, an intriguing clash of styles.

Yet, barring a third set lull for Djokovic as he struggled with his contact lenses, it was a stroll for the second seeded Serb who dismantled the Canadian’s power game to book an eighth semi-final at his Melbourne Park fortress. — Reuters