PLAYER OF THE DAY: Ashleigh Barty – the world No.1 continued her captivating run to Open glory with a thrilling 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 win over Petra Kvitova to become the first local woman to make the semi-finals since Wendy Turnbull in 1984.

STAT OF THE DAY: Ageless maestro Roger Federer saved seven fourth-set match points to eke out a miraculous 6-3 2-6 2-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 victory over unseeded American Tennys Sandgren and reach a mind-boggling 15th Australian Open semi-final.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I think I got incredibly lucky today. As the match went on, the pressure went away and I began to play. I don’t deserve this one but I’m standing here and I’m obviously very, very happy.”

TOURNAMENT SUMMARY: Barty will play 14th-seeded American Sofia Kenin on Thursday for a place in Saturday night’s title match as she continues her quest to end the infamous 42-year home title drought in Melbourne.