Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal and unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were a pair of quarterfinal winners Tuesday at the 2008 Australian Open.Nadal prevailed in a tough first set on Day 9 on his way to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 decision against 24th-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen. The match lasted 2 hours, 19 minutes, as Nadal landed in his first-ever Aussie Open semifinal by breaking Nieminen's serve six times, compared to only one break in eight break-point chances for the overmatched Finn.
"It's a good moment for me -- being my first semifinals on hardcourt at a Grand Slam," Nadal said.
The three-time French Open champion and two-time Wimbledon runner-up Nadal is now 4-0 lifetime against Nieminen.
Nadal's final four opponent here will be Tsonga, who erased 14th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 6-0, 7-6 (8-6) to secure a berth in his first- ever Grand Slam semi. Tsonga is the first unseeded French semifinalist here since Nicolas Escude turned the trick 10 years ago.
The talented 22-year-old Tsonga advanced in 2 hours, 17 minutes, as he swatted eight aces and did not allow Youzhny to enjoy even one break-point opportunity at Melbourne Park. The 38th-ranked Frenchman broke his Russian counterpart four times and looks like he could really challenge Nadal in the round of four.
The hot Tsonga stunned his eighth-seeded countryman Richard Gasquet here in the fourth round and took out ninth-seeded Brit Andy Murray in the opening round last week.
On Wednesday, top-seeded Swiss superstar Roger Federer will meet 12th-seeded American James Blake and third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic will take on fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer to wrap up the quarterfinals. Federer is the reigning two-time and three-time overall Aussie Open champ.
The 12-time major titlist Federer is a flawless 7-0 lifetime versus Blake, including a couple of Grand Slam match wins at the U.S. Open. Ferrer is 3-2 all-time against Djokovic, with the players splitting four meetings in 2007.
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