MELBOURNE: Stan Wawrinka mastered former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets to reach his third Australian Open semi-final after a mid-match argument on Tuesday.
The world number four won 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours, 15 minutes for his eighth Grand Slam semi-final appearance and will next face either Swiss legend Roger Federer or Germany's Mischa Zverev.
It puts the three-time Grand Slam champion, the winner in Melbourne in 2014, just one victory away from his fourth Slam final.
"It's not easy to play against him. He's a strong player," Wawrinka said of Tsonga.
"I think (the) conditions were quite fast today. It was a bit windy. Not easy to control (the ball).
"I started to move a bit better and be a bit more aggressive from the first shot. I think that's what made the difference."
It was a consummate performance from Wawrinka, with three service breaks from three break points, hitting 41 winners, 21 of them on the forehand, and just 28 unforced errors.
Yet there were some tense moments between the two with an extraordinary squabble breaking out after Wawrinka took the opening set in a tiebreaker.
During the terse conversation in French, Wawrinka was heard to tell Tsonga, "You're the one who's looking and talking to me" and then, "Relax, it's just a tennis match."
The interchange follows an incident at the 2014 Davis Cup final when the French team confronted Wawrinka over a comment he made during Switzerland's victory in Lille.
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