Federer demolishes Del Potro

Roger Federer cruised into a record 19th consecutive grand slam semi-final after completely outclassing Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3 6-0 6-0 at the Australian Open.

Federer was in a class of his own on Rod Laver Arena as he booked a last-four tie with Andy Roddick, toying with the 20-year-old Argentinian who was playing in only his second grand slam quarter-final.

The second seed showed no ill effects from his epic five-setter against Tomas Berdych in the previous round and was on the front foot from the fourth game of the first set when he broke the Del Potro for the first time. The eighth seed never recovered and as the pressure mounted his error count soared, handing Federer the easiest of victories.

Federer barely put a foot wrong, hitting 12 aces and 38 winners as he mixed elegant ground strokes with some sublime drop shots and passes which had Del Potro, the youngest quarter-finalist at the Australian Open since Richard Krajicek in 1992, overwhelmed.

Having won the first set 6-3 with the minimum of fuss, the Swiss number two rattled off the next 12 games as he broke Del Potro at will to wrap up the win in one hour and 20 minutes.