Roger Federer is 17/24 tennis betting to win his all-Swiss showdown with Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open and take another step towards an 18th grand slam title.

• Australian Open Betting on 888sport

The 35-year-old, whose last major triumph came at Wimbledon in 2012, cruised to a 6-1 7-5 6-2 victory against Mischa Zverev on Rod Laver Arena and will now face his compatriot for a place in Sunday's final.

Wawrinka certainly represents a formidable challenge as the US Open champion and arguably the most dangerous player left in the draw given he has won three grand slams in as many years.

The 31-year-old is the 11/4 second-favourite for the title – behind Federer at 2/1 – but has often struggled to find his best form against his friend and mentor, with whom he won the Davis Cup in 2014.

“He's a clutch player now,” Federer said of his next opponent. “At the US Open he proved it again, he's won a slam for the last three years. At Davis Cup, when it was important 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.”

Wawrinka often grows into a tournament, vulnerable in the early rounds but, as Novak Djokovic found to his cost in Flushing Meadows, unstoppable when the finishing line is in sight.

He is 57/50 to win Thursday’s match and should be relatively fresh after seeing off France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 6-3.

On the prospect of facing Federer, he said: “It's always something special. Most important is that I try as much as I can to focus on myself, that I step on the court to try to find a way how to win the match.”

In the women’s semi-final on Thursday, Venus Williams will also be hoping to post another triumph for the old guard when she faces Coco Vandeweghe.

Williams, at 36, is the oldest singles player in the women's draw but she rolled back the years to beat 24th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 7-6 (7/3).

The victory puts Williams into the last four here for the first time in 14 years and continues a late resurgence for the American, who has now made the semis twice in her last three grand slams.

Vandeweghe beat seventh seed Garbine Muguruza and is the 3/4 favourite, with Williams available at 27/25.

Check out http://www.888sport.com/ to catch the latest tennis odds

Emma Spencer looks at day two of the Cheltenham Festival, featuring the Queen Mother Champion Chase, for which Douvan is the red hot favourite.

• Bet on Cheltenham Festival

There are also high class fields in the Neptune Novices' Hurdle and the RSA Chase, as well as the Cross Country Chase at 4.10pm.

Remember, if you bet on three or more Festival races in a day, we'll give a 100% profit boost token so you can bid to get DOUBLE WINNINGS on ANY race tomorrow!

Emma Spencer preview day one of the Cheltenham Festival, featuring the Champion Hurdle!

• Bet on Champion Hurdle

The second part of the chat between Emma Spencer and Joe Tizzard, who discusses the main chances of his trainer father Colin's bets chances at the Cheltenham Festival.

• Bet on Cheltenham Festival

Faller Insurance! Money back as a Free Bet if your horse falls, unseats or is brought down in any Cheltenham Festival race!

Rafael Nadal has been cut to 13/4 in tennis betting odds to win the Australian Open as he prepares to face Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals.

• Australian Open Betting Odds

Nadal had not made it to the last eight of a major tournament since the French Open in 2015 but he continued his resurgence on Rod Laver Arena by beating Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-4 on Monday.

The world number nine looks rejuvenated in Melbourne and, with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic out, he looks a genuine contender to secure a 15th grand slam triumph.

Nadal is the 17/25 favourite to win his quarter-final against Raonic, although he lost to the same opponent in Brisbane earlier this month.

The pair will now meet again after the big-serving Canadian beat Nadal’s fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (8/6) 3-6 6-4 6-1.

Nadal ended last season in October to overcome a niggling wrist problem but, after proving his fitness in a five-set thriller with Alexander Zverev, he has now shown his form against the tricky Monfils.

“For me, it means a lot,” Nadal said. “To start the season playing quarter-finals in a grand slam again, especially on hard court after a couple of years without being in this round is great news. I'm very happy with an important victory against a very good opponent.”

Nadal's loss to Raonic in Brisbane was only his second in eight meetings but he is under no illusions about the scale of the challenge ahead.

“I need to be very focused with my serve and play aggressive,” Nadal said. “If I am not playing aggressive, then I am dead.”

Nadal is 100/30 to win in straight sets while Raonic is 7/6 to repeat his Brisbane triumph while 41/100 for the match to go to at least a fourth set looks a safe bet.

The bottom half of the draw's other quarter-final will pitch Belgium's David Goffin against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

Goffin beat Dominic Thiem 5-7 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 6-2 while Dimitrov knocked out Djokovic's conqueror Denis Istomin 2-6 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 6-1.

World number 15 Dimitrov has long been tipped for a big future in the game but has struggled to fulfil his potential. However, the 25-year-old's victory over Istomin earns him a first grand slam quarter-final since 2014 and he is the 5/9 favourite to extend his stay in the tournament with Goffin priced at 10/7.

Double or singles - bet on which ever takes your fancy at 888 Sport

Roger Federer is now the 3/1 tennis betting favourite to win the Australian Open for a fifth time.

• Australian Open Betting and odds

The Swiss overcame Kei Nishikori in five sets, in a match lasting three hours and 24 minutes, to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne.

He will now continue his pursuit of an 18th grand slam title against Mischa Zverev, the world number 50 who pulled off a shock win over top seed Andy Murray.

Federer is 1/12 to progress to the last four with Zverev 7/1 for another upset while there are odds of 32/25 for the match to have more than 3.5 sets.

The hard-fought victory over Nishikori came in what was only Federer’s fourth official match since returning from six months out with a knee injury.

Federer, 35, has warned his rivals he feels fit and ready to go the distance, saying: “I felt great in the fifth, I must say. Even deep into the fourth I thought 'Yeah, fifth, here we go, no problem for me. I'm feeling good about my chances'.

"I was playing positive tennis, I was playing offensive. My body was reacting. I was playing way better than the first couple of rounds where I put in a lot of mental energy to stay with my opponents, figure them out, how were they going to play, how were the conditions going to be - understanding the comeback really.

"I was able to focus point per point on my opponent, on the tactics. That didn't drain me much. I felt great in the fifth, which I'm very happy about."

This is the 49th grand slam in which Federer has reached the last eight while Zverev's quarter-final will be his first.Federer is 7/1 to prevail in a deciding set with Zverev 24/1 to do likewise and 7/2 to take the opening set.

Murray's loss, coming three days after Novak Djokovic's defeat to Denis Istomin, has thrown the draw wide open, with the likes of Federer, Milos Raonic, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka all primed to capitalise.

Wawrinka, the 2014 champion, faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals after beating Italian Andreas Seppi in straight sets, all three going to a tie-break.

The fourth seed, 13/4 for more Melbourne glory, is 5/8 to get past the Frenchman, who is 32/25 to stay on course to reach a second Australian Open final after his feat in 2008 when going down to Djokovic.

Ace your next tennis bet with 888sport.com

888sport horse racing ambassador Emma Specner sat down with Joe Tizzard, son of leading trainer Colin Tizzard, to discuss the yard's leading Cheltenham Gold Cup contenders, Cue Card and Native River! Check out part two of the interview here!

• Bet on Cheltenham Festival

New customers can get a massive 14/1 on Cue Card to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup (max. bet £10, TCs apply) - join now!

Emma Spencer previews the final day of Royal Ascot!

• Bet on Royal Ascot

Johanna Konta has been cut to 4/1 in tennis betting odds to warm up in style for the Australian Open by winning the WTA Apia International in Sydney.

• Bet on Tennis

Konta succeeded where other seeds in her half of the draw failed as she reached the quarter-finals and is now the joint-second favourite for the title behind Agnieszka Radwanska at 9/4.

The Briton went on court immediately after world number one Angelique Kerber's defeat to Daria Kasatkina while Dominika Cibulkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded third and fifth respectively, had also crashed out earlier on Tuesday.

That left Konta as the only seed in the top half of the draw and it was not an opportunity she wasted as she battled to a 6-1 6-3 victory over Russian-born Australian Daria Gavrilova in 81 minutes. 
 

The 25-year-old did not look back after breaking in the opening game and dropped only four points on serve in a first set she dominated.

Konta quickly established herself in the second set and while the plucky Gavrilova staved off four match points on serve in the eighth game, the British number one saved a break point and then sealed the win at the sixth attempt.

“I knew going into the match it was going to be an incredibly tough one, she's one of the best fighters on tour,” Konta said of Gavrilova.

The sixth seed continues her preparations for the first grand slam of the year with a last-eight clash against Kerber's conqueror Kasatkina, the Russian ranked 16 places below Konta at 26 in the world.

Konta is 16/25 for the win, 8/5 to ease through in straight sets and 33/10 to win a deciding set.

She added: “It's such a strong tournament, such depth, I know going into every single match that it's going to be a tough one and I'm just going to have to, first and foremost, take care of things my end.”

Bet on every tennis market you could want with 888sport

Emma Spencer puts up her best bets on day four of the Royal meeting, which features a brace of Group 1s in the Commonwealth Cup and Coronation Stakes!

• Bet on Royal Ascot

Bet & Watch every race on 888sport for as little as a £1 stake per race and take advantage of today's specials, including 7/2 about red hot Ryan Moore riding a double!