Two days after Federer was surprisingly taken to five sets by Tomas Berdych, the 13-times grand slam winner wasted little time in thrashing the eighth seed in just 80 minutes.

The 20-year-old del Potro, considered to be one of the rising players of the game having won four tournaments last year and the Auckland event earlier this month, had no answer to the Swiss.

Such was Federer's dominance, del Potro won just eight points in the second set and six in the third as the 27-year-old Federer advanced to his 19th successive grand slam semi-final.

Photographs and Text: Reuters