Tennis-Wawrinka wins testy clash with Tsonga to reach semi-finals

By Ian Ransom

MELBOURNE, Jan 24 ( Reuters) - Former champion Stan 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. (Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)