Hingis and Johansson reach semi-finals

Martina Hingis made her 19th Grand Slam semi-final and Thomas Johansson made his first in the Australian Open today.

Martina Hingis made her 19th Grand Slam semi-final and Thomas Johansson made his first in the Australian Open today.

Hingis had a 73-minute workout but few worries as she brushed aside unseeded and petite Italian Adriana Serra-Zanetti 6-2, 6-3 to reach the last four in Melbourne for the sixth straight year.

Hingis is chasing her sixth Grand Slam title but she has not won a major since her Australian Open title in 1999. She will play Venus Williams or four-time champion Monica Seles for a place in the final.

"It was nice to see someone shorter than me on the other side of the net," said the third seed, who has given up just 14 games here.

READ MORE

"I had to face Serena in the quarter-finals here at this point last year and it's nice to get through easier than last year".

Johansson saw off Swedish compartiot Jonas Bjorkman in his quarter-final, proving more consistent than his good friend to win 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

"We're really good friends off court," he said. "We've been practising so much together so we know each other's strengths and weaknesses so it's tough. It's much easier to do it against someone other than a friend".

Johansson will meet either Austria's Stefan Koubek or Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic.