Melbourne - Roger Federer got in a good workout as he won the semifinal of the AAMI Classic on Thursday, holding off Spain's Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) at the Australian Open tune-up event.

2006 Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, beaten by the Swiss three years ago in the Melbourne Park title match, finally had something to smile about after winning a relegation round match at the eight-man event.

The Cypriot defeated Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Auckland - German Philipp Kohlschreiber faces a fitness fight for Monday's start of the Australian Open after the Heineken Open holder pulled out before his Thursday quarter-final with a shoulder injury.

The decision handed a walkover to Spanish second seed David Ferrer and prevented a challenge between the last two winners of the ATP event.

Adelaide, Australia  - Mis-firing Mark Philippoussis has apologized for a miserabke performance at the World Tennis Challenge, as the two-time Grand Slam finalist made a timid return to the game.

The 32-year-old was competing for the first time in more than a year since re-injuring his right knee and undergoing another operation. Australia with Philippoussis and Pat Cash lost to the US side with Jim Courier and Taylor Dent.

Sydney - Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic began redeeming himself after a first-round loss last week, rolling Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Medibank International on Wednesday.

That kind of winning scenario was duplicated when third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, last year's losing finalist to Djokovic at Melbourne Park, stormed out of the blocks to hammer Italy's Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-1.

With the Australian Open starting on Monday, both men need to get it right if they want to try and repeat their 2008 successes.

Melbourne - Roger Federer stepped up his preparation for the Australian Open as he claimed his eighth career victory over Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday's opening day at the AAMI Classic.

Joining Federer as a winner at the promotion-relegation event was Olympic doubles partner Stan Wawrinka, with the number 16 hammering off-form Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-2.

Fernando Verdasco of Spain beat Croatian Marin Cilic 6-2, 7-5 while Chile's Fernando Gonzalez showed the bebefits of two and a half months off in a defeat of Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-3.

Melbourne - Roger Federer stepped up his preparation for the Australian Open as he claimed his eighth career victory over Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday's opening day at the AAMI Classic.

Joining Federer as a winner at the promotion-relegation event was Olympic doubles partner Stan Wawrinka, with the number 16 hammering off-form Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-2.