Novak Djokovic defeated Milos Raonic in straight sets to set up a semi-final against Stan Wawrinka
Novak Djokovic plays a backhand in his quarter-final match against Milos Raonic
World No 1 Novak Djokovic dispatched Milos Raonic in two hours to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Djokovic tamed Raonic's formidable serve before humbling the Canadian 7-6(5) 6-4 6-2 on Wednesday to set up a mouth-watering semi-final against defending champion Stan Wawrinka.
Eighth seed Raonic, who had a compeitive season at Grand Slam level in 2014, was supposed to offer the first real test for the top-seeded Serb but was completely outclassed under the lights at Rod Laver Arena.
After being edged in the tie-break of the opening set, Djokovic broke Raonic early in the second and twice in the third, without giving up a single break point on his own serve.
He closed out the match with a clinical volley to reach the last four and will play the man that ended his title defence at the quarter-final stage last year at Melbourne Park .
"It was a great performance tonight. I returned very well and tried to get as many of the balls back in play and I felt I had a good chance from the back of the court," said Djokovic after the match.
"Some games I just had to let it go and wait for the opportunities and when they were presented try to use them.
"I served very well and overall it was a great match against one of the up and coming rising stars."
Fans will hope for another classic between Djokovic and Wawrinka, with their five-hour epic encounter at this tournament back in 2013 one of the greatest seen on the Melbourne courts.