Unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has continued his giant-killing run through the Australian Open after seeing off 14th seed Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets to advance to his first Grand Slam semi-final.
Tsonga was at his athletic best throughout the two-hour encounter, not allowing the Russian any room to move as he closed out the match 7-5 6-0 7-6 (8-6).
"It's just unbelievable. It's amazing, I don't know what to say," Tsonga said afterwards.
The 22-year-old from Le Mans has been the surprise packet of the tournament, shocking highly-fancied Andy Murray in the first round. Wins over Sam Warburg and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez were next before another masterful performance against eighth-seeded countryman Richard Gasquet in the round of 16.
If Tsonga had any nerves against the experienced Youzhny he didn't show it, breaking in the 11th game before serving out the set.
Tsonga then raced through the second set to love in just 29 minutes, winning 26 points to nine as the Russian had no answers to the Frenchman's power and finesse.
Youzhny clawed his way back in the third set, taking it to a tie-breaker.
The 25-year-old had a chance to take the match into a fourth set when he held a set point at 6-5 in the tie-breaker but was unable to convert.
Tsonga then brought up a match point with a big first serve before closing it out to send the Rod Laver Arena crowd into raptures.
He will now face No.2 seed Rafael Nadal in a dream semi-final on Thursday.
