29 Jan 2010, 0912 hrs IST

Sports News: MELBOURNE: Roger Federer brushed aside a subdued Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2 6-3 6-2 to set up a clash with Andy Murray in Sunday's final of the Australian Open.

The world number one had few problems in seeing off the erratic Frenchman, taking only 88 minutes to wrap up what was a one-sided semi-final.

Federer took control early in the match and there was no way back for Tsonga, who seemed a shadow of his usual self.

The Swiss star served supremely but, in truth, he was hardly tested.

Murray will hold realistic hopes of doing far better than the 10th seed managed but this match still gave the Scot a stark reminder of the task he faces as he looks to secure his first Grand Slam title.

Federer, a three-time champion at Melbourne Park who is into his 22nd Grand Slam final, was always expected to have too much in his armoury for the charismatic Tsonga but the ease of his victory was still surprising.

He broke for the first time to move 3-1 up in the first set and kept his opponent's serve under almost constant pressure throughout, going through the full repertoire of his shots to leave Tsonga in knots.

Tsonga, who had come through five-set matches with Nicolas Almagro and Novak Djokovic to reach this stage, continued to struggle and was broken again as Federer wrapped up the first set in just 31 minutes.

That set the tone for the rest of the match, with Tsonga undone by a series of unforced errors and some lethargic serving which saw him broken five times in total.

"What was wrong? My serve," Tsonga said. "I think I was at 50 or 55% of first serves in and the speed of my serving was also poor. Also, I missed some volley at the beginning of the match and after that it was tough.

"He took the ball earlier than me, and he was just better than me. Today he was really good."

In contrast, Federer's own delivery was almost faultless, and he conceded just 15 points in his 13 service games, denying the 2008 runner-up even a sniff of a response.

"I'm very happy to be through," Federer said afterwards.