MELBOURNE, Australia -- Roger Federer decided the crowd didn't get quite enough value from his semifinal romp over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, so he worked on his comedy routine.
After dismissing his 10th-seeded opponent 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 Friday night, Federer looked toward the final and the last obstacle between him and a fourth Australian Open title - Andy Murray.
Murray, as the Scotsman is incessantly reminded, will be trying to end a long drought for British men at Grand Slam tournaments when he takes the court Sunday night.
"I know he'd like to win the first for British tennis since, what is it 150,000 years?" Federer cracked in his courtside interview. "The poor guy who has to go through those moments over and over again."
The last British man to win a major was Fred Perry in 1936. ("I missed it by a little bit," Federer quipped.) Murray, who beat Marin Cilic in his semifinal a night earlier, is the first British man in the Open era to reach two Grand Slam finals and the first Brit to make it to a championship match in Australia since John Lloyd in 1977.
Federer, winner of a record 15 majors, will be playing in his 22nd Grand Slam final. He was relaxed as ever at Rod Laver Arena in dispatching Tsonga in 11/2 hours. Tsonga offered glimpses of brilliance but was no match for the sublime play of Federer.
Murray can take solace in this statistic: He leads Federer 6-4 in career head-to-heads. But the top-ranked Swiss has won the last two and, more important, their only Grand Slam encounter: a straight-sets victory at the 2008 U.S. Open final.
Also looking relaxed was Serena Williams. She and sister Venus successfully defended their Australian Open doubles title Friday with a 6-4, 6-3 win over top-seeded Cara Black and Liezel Huber.
It was their 11th Grand Slam doubles title. Serena also has 11 major singles titles and will be aiming for a 12th today when she plays seven-time Grand Slam winner Justine Henin.
Serena Williams has four Australian titles since 2003, all in odd-numbered years. That could be a good omen for Henin, a former No. 1 playing her first major since losing to Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Australian Open.
She quit suddenly in May 2008. Henin, a 2004 winner in Australia and a 2006 finalist, is only two tournaments into her return to the tour.
She is trying to emulate the mighty Grand Slam comeback of fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters, who won the U.S. Open last September in only her third tournament after two years off.
The men's doubles final will follow Henin-Williams, with another pair of American siblings in contention. Twins Bob and Mike Bryan, seeded No. 1, will play No. 2-seeded Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.
