Four-time champion Roger Federer has sent Juan Martin del Potro packing in straight sets on Tuesday afternoon to reach the Australian Open semi-finals for the ninth year in a row.
De Potro battled hard in the first two sets but was simply unable to match Federer's class, and the end came quickly for him in the third set as the Swiss No.3 seed romped home 6-4 6-3 6-2 in 119 minutes.
Last triumphant at Melbourne Park two years ago, which was also the 16th and most recent of his Grand Slam victories, Federer faced only brief tests of his game as del Potro just couldn't generate any sustained momentum at any time.
The result also means Federer now leads 8-2 overall against del Potro, who he thrashed at the same stage of the 2009 tournament at Melbourne Park and then also beat in the French Open semis before the Argentine turned the tables in five sets at Flushing Meadows as he claimed his maiden major title.
Federer's reward for his win will be either the latest chapter in his storied rivalry with Spanish No.2 seed Rafael Nadal, who leads their head-to-head meetings 19-9, or a battle with Czech No.7 seed Tomas Berdych, who he leads 10-4 overall.
Del Potro surrendered his serve in the second game of the match as he fell 3-0 behind but after appearing to get back into the match when he broke back in the seventh game for 4-3, another ordinary service display in the 10th game cost him the set.
Federer broke just once in the second set, in the fourth game for 3-1 but the set was more about the opportunities del Potro failed to convert, particularly in the ninth game as Federer staved off four break points in a row to hold and take the two-sets-to-love lead.
With all the momentum Federer then broke to open the third set and didn't give his opponent any chances on his own serve before breaking again in the seventh game and then comfortably holding serve to claim victory with a superb backhand winner.
The 2004, '06, '07 and 2010 champion flashed 38 winners past del Potro, who managed only 20 of his own, while the Argentine 11th seed committed 27 unforced errors to Federer's 22.
Federer surprisingly only landed 57 percent of his first serves compared to del Potro's 67 percent but the Swiss maestro converted 89 percent of them to just 57 percent.