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21 ZV EREV, ranked 50th in the world, has turned back the clock with his serve and volley tactics in Melbourne but he could not outsmart the 35-year-old Swiss who moved one step closer to an 18th grand slam title. Federer, whose last major tri- umph came at Wimbledon in 2012, cruised to a 6-1 7-5 6-2 victory on Rod Laver Arena and will now face Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss showdown for a place in Sunday's final. Wawrinka certainly represents a formidable challenge, the US Open champion and arguably most dangerous player left in the draw given he has won three grand slams in as many years. The 31-year-old, however, has often struggled to find his best against Federer, his friend and mentor, with whom he won the Davis Cup in 2014. "He's a clutch player now," Federer said of his next oppo- nent. "At the US Open he proved it again, he's won a slam for the last three years. "At Davis Cup, when it was im- portant he was right there for me, for us, for Switzerland. "For me to play against Stan I've got to stay aggressive, the more time I give him the better he is. He's the biggest hitter we have in the game right now." Federer is gathering momen- tum after only just returning from six months out with injury, but still beating Tomas Berdych and then Kei Nishikori en route to the last four. "My expectation was not to be playing Stan in the semis," Federer said. "I thought I was maybe going to win a few rounds, fourth round, quarters, that was my expectation if the draw was okay. "That was before the draw - people were talking about the dream draw but I was like, 'what am I missing? I'm not seeing the dream draw at all '. "So I never thought it would be this good but here I am standing with Stan at the semis, which couldn't be cooler for the both of us." Wawrinka had earlier seen off France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 6-3. On facing Federer, Wawrin- ka added: "When I step on the court, it's always something special because he's the best player because of everything he's done in his career, because of the way he's playing, because he's Swiss, because he's a really close friend, because of every- thing we've been together, Davis Cup, Olympics. "It's always something special. Most important is that I try as much as I can to focus on my- self, that I step on the court to try to find a way how to win the match." In the bottom half, the winner of Nadal and Raonic will face ei- ther Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov or Belgium's David Goffin, who also play their quarter-final on Wednesday. Sport FORMULA 1 TENNIS maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 25 JANUARY 2017 Liberty Media complete F1 takeover Bernie Ecclestone's four-decade reign as the ruler of Formula One is over after American company Liberty Media completed its £6 billion purchase of the sport CHASE Carey, who was already installed as the sport's chair- man, replaces Ecclestone as chief executive officer. Ecclestone, 86, has been hand- ed the role of chairman emeri- tus, and will be available as a source to the new board, but he will no longer be involved in the day-to-day running of Formula One for the first time since the 1970s. . "I'm proud of the business that I built over the last 40 years and all that I have achieved with Formula One, and would like to thank all of the promoters, teams, sponsors and television companies that I have worked with," Ecclestone said. "I'm very pleased that the busi- ness has been acquired by Lib- erty and that it intends to invest in the future of F1. I am sure that Chase will execute his role in a way that will benefit the sport." Ecclestone had stated earlier on Monday that he had been stepped down. In an interview with German publication Auto Motor und Sport, Ecclestone said: ''I was de- posed today. This is official, I do not run the company any more.'' And after completing the deal, Liberty Media, which is now ex- pected to usher in a new dawn for the sport, paid tribute to the departing chief executive. "I would like to recognise and thank Bernie for his leadership over the decades," Carey, also the vice chairman of 21st Cen- tury Fox, said. "The sport is what it is today because of him and the talented team of executives he has led, and he will always be part of the F1 family. "Bernie's role as chairman emeritus befits his tremendous contribution to the sport and I am grateful for his continued insight and guidance as we build F1 for long-term success and the enjoyment of all those involved." Greg Maffei, President and CEO of Liberty Media Corpo- ration, added: "I'd like to thank Bernie Ecclestone, who becomes chairman emeritus, for his tre- mendous success in building this remarkable global sport." When Liberty bought an 18.7 per cent stake from private equi- ty firm CVC Capital Partners in September, Ecclestone said the prospective new owners wanted him to stay on as chief executive for three years. But the diminutive and some- time controversial Briton has been moved aside in a radical shake-up of the sport. Ross Brawn, the British tech- nical mastermind behind Mi- chael Schumacher's record seven world championships and Jen- son Button's 2009 title triumph, returns to the sport as managing director. Sean Bratches, former- ly of ESPN, takes on the leading commercial role. "It's fantastic to be returning to the world of Formula One," Brawn, the former Mercedes team boss, said in a second state- ment released on Monday. "I've enjoyed consulting with Liberty Media these last few months and I'm looking forward to working with Chase, Sean and the rest of the Formula One team to help the evolution of the sport. "We have an almost unprec- edented opportunity to work to- gether with the teams and pro- moters for a better F1 for them and, most importantly, for the fans." Carey added: "I am delighted to welcome Ross back to Formula One. In his 40 years in the sport, he's brought his magic touch to every team with which he has worked, has almost unparalleled technical knowledge, experience and relationships, and I have al- ready benefited greatly from his advice and expertise." Nico Rosberg, who retired from motor racing five days af- ter winning the championship, welcomed the news of Liberty's takeover. The German tweeted: "Bernie, mega job! But a change has been overdue. Mr. Carey, all the best in making our sport awesome again. Chase Carey (l) replaces Ecclestone as chief executive Federer eases into Melbourne semis Roger Federer did what Andy Murray could not and beat Mischa Zverev to reach his 41st grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open Roger Federer outplayed Germany's Mischa Zverev en route to the semi- finals of the Australian Open