Published Wed, Jan 27 10 08:49 PM
Brief biographies of the men's semi-finalists at the 2010 Australian Open (prefix number denotes seeding):
1-Roger Federer (Switzerland)
Age: 28
Grand Slam titles: 15 (Australian Open 2004, 2006, 2007, French Open 2009, Wimbledon 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, U.S. Open 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Federer's record speaks for itself, he is the greatest player of his generation, if not all time. His opponents had hoped his motivation might be waning after he became a father and he achieved his life's goals, winning the French Open for the first time last year then overtaking American Pete Sampras's record of 14 grand slams. They were wrong.
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10-Jo-Wilfried-Tsonga (France)
Age: 24
Grand Slam titles: 0
Tsonga made the final in Australia two years ago when he was unseeded but this is his first appearance in a grand slam semi-final since then. He is nicknamed Ali and celebrates winning by imitating the former world heavyweight champion with some shadow boxing on court. He made it through to the last four by knocking out Novak Djokovic, the man who beat him in the 2008 final, but faces another big hurdle with Federer up next.
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5-Andy Murray (Britain)
Age: 27
Grand Slam titles: 0
Murray has been in devastating form in Melbourne this year, winning all his matches in straight sets. His quarter-final victory over Rafa Nadal was the highest quality match of the tournament so far and if he continues to play like that he could win the title. Only history counts against him as it has been 74 years since a British man won a grand slam.
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14-Marin Cilic (Croatia)
Age: 26
Grand Slam titles: 0
Every grand slam produces a giant-killer and Cilic has taken on the role in Melbourne, beating U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro and Andy Roddick. His biggest concern ahead of his clash with Murray is that he may be close to exhaustion after being pushed to three five-setters and spending more than 18 hours on court just to make the semis.
Source: Web Search
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