HIGHLIGHTS-Tennis-Day nine at the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Highlights from day nine of the Australian Open tennis championships on Tuesday (all times GMT): 1000 FEDERER INTO SEMIS WITH STRAIGHT SETS WIN OVER ZVEREV Switzerland's Roger Federer, the 17th seed, storms into the semi-finals with a 6-1 7-5 6-2 win over giant-killing German Mischa Zverev, who had eliminated world number one Andy Murray. Federer faces compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the semi-final. 0930 WAWRINKA KEEN TO TEST METTLE AGAINST 'BEST' FEDERER "It's always been different in my career when I played against Roger... because he's the best player, because of everything he's done in his career... because he's Swiss, because he's a really close friend, because of everything we've been through together," says fourth seed Stan Wawrinka, who faces compatriot Roger Federer in the semi-final. 0120 TSONGA TIGHTLIPPED ABOUT TESTY EXCHANGE WITH WAWRINKA "Sometimes it happens. We can talk during the game. Nothing special, yeah. We just spoke about things that I think is only between him and me, and that's it," says France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who engaged in a war of words with Stan Wawrinka, during his quarter-final defeat by the fourth seed. READ MORE Fired-up Wawrinka simmers down after Tsonga clash I deserve this, says Venus, as she reaches Melbourne semis Vandeweghe overcomes nerves and Muguruza to meet Venus Wawrinka wins testy clash with Tsonga to reach semi-finals Scrap 'nonsense' doubles format, says Jamie Murray Vandeweghe blasts into first grand slam semi-final Venus reaches first Melbourne Park semi in 14 years Australian Open order of play on Wednesday 0630 WAWRINKA SEES OF TSONGA TO ENTER SEMIS Number four seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland beats France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(2) 6-4 6-3 to set up a semi-final clash with either compatriot Roger Federer or Germany's Mischa Zverev. 0608 VANDEWEGHE LOOKS FORWARD TO FACING 'UNBELIEVABLE' VENUS "It's a dream to play someone you grew up watching. To play an unbelievable player, future Hall of Famer, Venus, to be on the court with her, I've only experienced it one time before. But to do it at this stage of a Grand Slam is kind of crazy," says Coco Vandeweghe, who is fired up ahead of her semi-final against Venus Williams. 0510 NO REGRETS FOR MUGURUZA AFTER QUARTER-FINAL EXIT "I have zero regrets about my performance. I think when you play with someone that has the power to disturb like this, to hit these kind of shots, and has a good day, I mean, it's difficult honestly," says seventh seed Garbine Muguruza, who was beaten in straight sets by American Coco Vandeweghe. 0355 VANDEWEGHE STUNS MUGURUZA TO REACH SEMI-FINAL American Coco Vandeweghe powers into her first grand slam semi-final with a 6-4 6-0 victory over seventh seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain. She will face Venus Williams for a spot in the final. 0320 PAVLYUCHENKOVA SURPRISED BY VENUS FORM "It was kind of surprising for me how in great form she is now. Like, she's playing good, moving well, very solid on the baseline, very aggressive. Of course, she's serving well," says the Russian. 0212 VENUS 'SO EXCITED' TO BE IN SEMIS, WANTS TO GO FURTHER "It was such a hard fought match. She didn't let up. We have always had quality matches and today was exactly the same," the American says. "I don't want to finish it there though I want to go further. "It wasn't an easy start to the year for me, I had to withdraw from the first tournament so there was a lot of anxiety coming in here. I'm just so excited that I have an opportunity to play again. That's all I'm focussed on." 0207 VENUS BEATS PAVLYUCHENKOVA TO MAKE LAST FOUR Venus Williams serves marginally better than Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to beat the Russian 6-4 7-6(3) and advance to her first Australian Open semi-final since 2003. The 36-year-old American will now face either compatriot Coco Vandeweghe or French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, who are up next on Rod Laver Arena. 0008 VENUS OPENS FIRST DAY OF QUARTER-FINALS Overnight rain has cleared at Melbourne Park with brilliant sunshine on Rod Laver Arena, where the quarter-final action is focused. The temperature is 20C and not expected to get much warmer, with humidity at around 60 percent. ORDER OF PLAY ROD LAVER ARENA Coco Vandeweghe (U.S.) v 7-Garbine Muguruza (Spain) 4-Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) v 12-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) Not before 0800: Mischa Zverev (Germany) v 17-Roger Federer (Switzerland) (Compiled by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Peter Rutherford)