Johansson reaches his first Grand Slam semis

Thomas Johansson reached his first Grand Slam semifinal when he ended fellow-Swede Jonas Bjorkman's Australian Open charge with an efficient 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win on Tuesday.

Bjorkman upset sixth seed Tim Henman of Britain in the previous round but met stiffer resistance in his quarter-final against his friend and 16th seed Johansson, who reached a career-high ranking of 14 last June.

"I've been to the quarters twice at the U.S. Open but this is something else, it's a great feeling," Johansson said.

Johansson, who last reached a grand slam quarter-final at the 2000 U.S. Open, gained a key break of serve in the ninth game of the fourth set when he planted a volley past Bjorkman and served out the match on Rod Laver Arena after two hours and 35 minutes.

"In the first set I was playing maybe my best tennis ever," Johansson told local television.

The Swedish number one's heavy serve blunted Bjorkman's flashy array of groundstrokes and often got him out of trouble as Bjorkman started to find range after the first set.

He blasted 15 aces past Bjorkman and had his opponent on the back foot with another 51 service winners.

"It's very tough to serve again Jonas because he is maybe the best returner on the tour," Johansson said.

In a surprisingly easy start for Johansson, Bjorkman dropped serve three times in an error-strewn opening set.

BACKHAND PASSES

Bjorkman fought back in the second set but Johansson backed his strong serve with well-timed net rushes and a string of backhand passing shots.

Doubles specialist Bjorkman, known for his ability to improvise unlikely shots out of nothing, beat Johansson with a lob played from between his legs as he ran to the back of the court in the second game of the third set.

Johansson however kept his cool and fended off Bjorkman's challenge despite feeling nervous as he served for the match to cement his best performance at a grand slam tournament.

"I was so nervous, I was really, really shaky," he said.

Johansson will now play either 26th seed Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic or unseeded Austrian Stefan Koubek, who meet later on Tuesday, for a place in Sunday's final.

"Jiri is playing great tennis, Koubek is a fighter, so it is going to be great match," Johansson said.

The men's draw was blown wide open when the top five seeds all failed to make it past the first three days and many more fell in the first week.

Seventh seed Tommy Haas is the highest seed left in the tournament. Ninth seed and bookmakers' favourite Marat Safin of Russia is also in Haas's side of the draw.

"If you look forward, it very dangerous because you can lose in your next round," Johansson said. "A lot of seeds have gone out but all the guys that are left can play well."