Former champion Stanislas Wawrinka engaged in a war of words with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga but won the argument that counted to storm into the Australian Open semi-finals with a 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-3, win over the Frenchman on Tuesday.
Wawrinka bickered heatedly with 12th seed Tsonga during a change of ends after the first set before putting his aggression to better use, wrapping up the one-sided match in two hours and 15 minutes on a sun-bathed Rod Laver Arena.
Tsonga, runner-up in 2008, was a shadow of his usual energetic self, dropping serve three successive times to lose the second set and concede a break in the third.
The 2014 champion Wawrinka made no mistake as he coolly closed out the match when Tsonga pushed a defensive lob over the baseline and the Swiss will face either compatriot Roger Federer or German giant-killer Mischa Zverev for a place in the final.
