VOA标准英语2008年-Federer, Serbs Reach Aussie Tennis Semifinals

World No. 1 men's tennis player Roger Federer of Switzerland continued defense¹ of his Australian Open title with a 7-5, 7-6, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over American James Blake Wednesday in Melbourne.

Federer's semifinal opponent will be Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who dominated Spaniard David Ferrer 6-0, 6-3, 7-5.

Meanwhile, another Serbian woman is making waves in Melbourne, as No. 4 seed Ana Ivanovic defeated American Venus Williams 7-6, 6-4. Williams's loss came a day after her sister, defending champion Serena, was ousted² by Ivanovic's compatriot Jelena Jankovic.

Ivanovic will face Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, who advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal on Wednesday with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. In the other women's semifinal, Jankovic will square off against Russian Maria Sharapova, who ousted world No. 1 Justine Henin of Belgium.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.