Federer shrugs off Djokovic bravado

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The pair will meet in a hotly-anticipated semi-final on Friday night after the Swiss maestro was far from his best in his 7-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 quarter-final victory against American James Blake.

"I've heard it before and don't read it anymore because it's the same thing over and over again," said Federer, who is into a record 15th straight grand slam semi-final.

"This is the way you're supposed to think out there. You are not coming here to lose in the first round.

"You're coming here to hopefully do well and then win the tournament if you're one of the top-10 guys.

"That's reality. That's nothing new. That's not cocky. That's confidence. That's just a normal tennis player."

Federer pulled out of the warm-up event at Kooyong with a stomach virus, and speculation about his form heightened when he was taken to 10-8 in the fifth set of his third-round match against Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.

Since then, he has not dropped a set in wins over 13th seed Tomas Berdych and now 12th seed Blake.

Federer insists he is looking forward to taking on the rising Serbian star in the semi-finals - a rematch of the 2007 US Open final which the Swiss won.

"I think when the top three, top four guys play against each other, it's always entertaining for both of us," he said. "I think it's great that Rafa [Nadal] made it through, as well, with Novak. It's good for tennis."