Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic claimed his first Grand Slam semi-final spot at the Australian Open with a comprehensive three set demolition of Austria's Stefan Koubek in Melbourne. The 26th seed raced to a sensational 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory in only 85 minutes, to earn a semi-final clash with Sweden's 16th seed Thomas Johansson.
Koubek, ranked 65th in the world, had no answer for the superior power and pace of Novak and never looked like repeating his feats in the earlier rounds when he came back from two sets down in his first and second round matches. He finally ran out of steam on the Rod Laver Arena centre court as Novak became the first Czech semi-finalist at a Grand Slam since Petr Korda won in Melbourne in 1998.
Shane Murray
