Snapshot from the Australian Open

SNAPSHOT FROM DAY NINE OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN AT MELBOURNE PARK:

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Roger Federer - the peerless Swiss extended his record of grand slam semi-final appearances in the professional era to 40 - nine clear of Jimmy Connors - with a straight-sets demolition job on Tomas Berdych.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It's motivating because she's at a different level. She makes you go back to the drawing board." - Maria Sharapova tries extremely hard to find something positive in her 18th straight loss to Serena Williams.

KEY MOMENT: An Australian Open linesman will never forget coming off second-best after copping a 195km/h rocket serve from Berdych in the worst possible spot. Presumably, he then called the serve out with a high-pitched voice.

STAT OF THE DAY: Six from six. That's Williams' remarkable record of converting semi-final appearances into titles at Melbourne Park. Few would bet against her making it seven from seven this year.

TOURNAMENT SUMMARY: Federer does what he does, advancing to yet another major semi-final. On the women's side, Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska is the last woman standing between Williams and yet another grand slam decider.