TENNIS:If Roger Federer and Chile's Fernando Gonzalez take their brilliant semi-final form into tomorrow's Australian Open final then the fireworks that lit up the night skies on Australia Day will be as nothing compared with what may happen in the Rod Laver Arena.
Federer obliterated Andy Roddick and yesterday Gonzalez similarly crushed Tommy Haas of Germany 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.
Gonzalez hit 42 winners and made only three unforced errors. "In the past I usually made three winners and 42 unforced errors," he grinned.
The wild man from Santiago with the white bandanna and designer stubble has always been eminently watchable if mightily unpredictable. Then, last year, along came the American coach Larry Stefanki who calmed him down, instilled patience and has now guided Gonzalez to his first grand slam final.
Take any opponent other than Federer, and the 26-year-old Chilean would, on this form, have a brilliant chance of achieving what his fellow countryman Marcelo Rios, also coached by Stefanki, failed to do here in 1998 when he lost in the final against Petr Korda.
Rios, nevertheless, became a national hero, something Gonzalez has experienced having teamed up with Nicolas Massu to win the doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, with Massu also taking the singles gold.
Win or lose, Gonzalez will climb to a career-high ranking in the top five. Yet, despite his wonderful form over the past 12 days, including a straight-sets quarter-final victory over the world number two Rafael Nadal, it would be a cataclysmic shock if Federer lost. They have played nine times with the world number one winning the lot, and dropping only two sets.
So for Gonzalez to win a set would be a considerable achievement, Federer having yet to lose one here. Bjorn Borg was the last player to win a slam title without losing a set, at Roland Garros in 1980.
Victory would move Federer into joint fifth place among all-time slam winners alongside Bill Tilden, with 10. This is just one behind Borg and Rod Laver, who was here to see Federer beat Roddick. Federer would also be the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive majors twice, and thereby set himself up to hold all four slam titles at the same time by winning the French Open, the one major to elude him.
Federer will not see tomorrow's final as a gimme. Gonzalez has the power, notably on the forehand, to overwhelm anyone, though Federer will doubtless test the Chilean's new-found patience to the limits. Haas, playing in his third Australian Open semi-final, was never able to get under Gonzalez's skin; Federer will.
Haas tried to attack the Chilean's sliced backhand, but found it difficult to know when to come to the net. Federer will be less reluctant. But Gonzalez, "Gonzo" to many, remains optimistic.
"My backhand has improved a lot and I'm much fitter. I used to panic if I stayed too much on the backhand. Now I can stay there and wait for the other guy to make a mistake or I can create an opening.
"I'm playing much better now than the last time we met. I'm going to give it everything and on my forehand side I feel I can do whatever I want. It's going to be a tough, but I'm playing at a great level." Guardian Service
MEN'S SINGLES: Semi-final: (10) Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) bt (12) Tommy Haas (Ger) 6-1 6-3 6-1
WOMEN'S DOUBLES: Final: (3) Cara Black (Zim) & Liezel Huber (Rsa) bt Chin-Wei Chan (Tpe) & Chia-Jung Chuang (Tpe) 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-1.
MIXED DOUBLES: Semi-finals: Max Mirnyi (Blr) and Victoria Azarenka (Blr) bt (4) Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) and Francesca Schiavone (Ita) 6-2 6-3; Daniel Nestor (Can) and Elena Likhovtseva (Rus) bt (7) Kevin Ullyett (Zim) and Liezel Huber (Rsa) 6-2 7-5.