MELBOURNE (Reuters) – American teen Sloane Stephens went to bed on Tuesday wondering if she had the game to topple her idol Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarter-finals, but after beating the five-times Melbourne Park champion in three sets she said it wasn’t as hard as she thought.

After a tentative start, the 19-year-old went toe-to-toe with an injury-hampered Williams on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday to claim a 3-6 7-5 6-4 win and set up a semi-final with defending champion Victoria Azarenka.

MELBOURNE, Jan 23 (Reuters) – American teen Sloane Stephens went to bed on Tuesday wondering if she had the game to topple her idol Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarter-finals, but after beating the five-times Melbourne Park champion in three sets she said it wasn’t as hard as she thought.

After a tentative start, the 19-year-old went toe-to-toe with an injury-hampered Williams on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday to claim a 3-6 7-5 6-4 win and set up a semi-final with defending champion Victoria Azarenka.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Transforming trailblazer Li Na from a hot-headed one-slam wonder into a cold-blooded winner of multiple major titles is the end game for coach Carlos Rodriguez, who says the Chinese is primed to upset Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open semi-finals.

Rodriguez has guided Li into the last four of a major for the first time since her 2011 French Open triumph, whipping the 30-year-old into the shape of her life and digging her out of a rut of self-doubt.

MELBOURNE, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Transforming trailblazer Li Na from a hot-headed one-slam wonder into a cold-blooded winner of multiple major titles is the end game for coach Carlos Rodriguez, who says the Chinese is primed to upset Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open semi-finals.

Rodriguez has guided Li into the last four of a major for the first time since her 2011 French Open triumph, whipping the 30-year-old into the shape of her life and digging her out of a rut of self-doubt.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Defending champion Victoria Azarenka won a first-set war of attrition before crushing Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5 6-1 to march into the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

The world number one was pushed to the wall by the 27-year-old Russian, who played more like a two-time grand slam winner than her current world No. 75 ranking.

MELBOURNE, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Defending champion Victoria Azarenka won a first-set war of attrition before crushing Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5 6-1 to march into the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

The world number one was pushed to the wall by the 27-year-old Russian, who played more like a two-time grand slam winner than her current world No. 75 ranking.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Serena Williams comes face to face with the next generation of U.S. tennis when she takes on 19-year-old Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Stephens secured her maiden appearance in a grand slam quarter-final with a composed three-set win over Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski and further impressed with her wise-cracking performance in an on-court interview after the match.

MELBOURNE, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Serena Williams comes face to face with the next generation of U.S. tennis when she takes on 19-year-old Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Stephens secured her maiden appearance in a grand slam quarter-final with a composed three-set win over Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski and further impressed with her wise-cracking performance in an on-court interview after the match.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Roger Federer delivered a lesson to the next generation at the Australian Open, extending his record to a 35th consecutive grand slam quarter-final after Serena Williams set up a clash with her would-be successor.

The Swiss maestro sent 22-year-old Canadian Milos Raonic packing with a 6-4 7-6 6-2 masterclass under the lights of Rod Laver Arena on Monday, providing a blueprint for Williams ahead of her all-American quarter-final against teenager Sloane Stephens.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Winning Asia’s first grand slam singles title became a burden that sapped the confidence out of Li Na, but the 30-year-old Chinese felt it come flooding back in reaching her third Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday.

The 2011 French Open champion overcame a bout of wayward serving to grind down fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5 6-3 on a sun-drenched centre court, and will play either Maria Sharapova or Ekaterina Makarova for a place in the final.