Nadal-Federer in Aussie semis

Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia

The intensity was vintage Rafael Nadal.

On the stroke of midnight, he thrust his arms up and punched the air, sealing the victory that sets up the most anticipated semifinal at the Australian Open in quite some time.

Roger Federer did his part to put this in place. In the previous match on Rod Laver Arena, he beat 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in a quarterfinal marking his 1,000th tour-level match.

A Federer-Nadal semifinal had been looming since the draw for the season’s first major — the first time the pair have been in the same half at a Grand Slam tournament since 2005.

Playing with a new racket and a heavily taped right knee, Nadal was at his demonstrative best, rallying after losing the first set to beat Tomas Berdych 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-3.

Yelling “Vamos,” disputing line calls, pumping his arms after winning big points and bounding around like a hyperactive kid, Nadal ripped winner after winner against Berdych in a 4-hour, 16-minute display of pure intimidation.

Maria Sharapova remained perfect in Australian Open quarterfinals, defeating Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3 this morning.

Sharapova has won all five quarterfinals she has contested at Melbourne Park and has advanced to the final twice, including when she won the title in 2008.

The 24-year-old Russian, who has lost just 21 games in five matches, will play Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the semifinals.

Makarova had an upset win over five-time champion Serena Williams in the fourth round.

A win at Melbourne Park would allow Sharapova to regain the No. 1 ranking she held for seven weeks each in 2005 and 2007 and three weeks in mid-2008.