MELBOURNE, Australia -- Thomas Johansson reached his first grand slam semifinal when he ended fellow Swede Jonas Bjorkman's Australian Open charge with an efficient 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Safin fined for outburst

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Russia's Marat Safin has been fined $1,000 for uttering an audible obscenity during his third-round match against compatriot Mikhail Youzhny, during which he argued heatedly with chair umpire Norm Chryst. Safin, who beat Pete Sampras on Monday, clashed with Chryst after the official handed him a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct when he hit a line judge with a ball during Saturday's match. Safin said he had merely hit the ball behind him to a ballboy and had no intention of hitting the official. But he clashed with Chryst over the incident. Safin later accused Chryst, with whom he had clashed before, of treating him with disrespect. A spokesman for the International Tennis Federation, which sanctions Grand Slam events, said Tuesday the fine was handed to Safin after videotape of the incident had been reviewed and the umpire had spoken to the tournament referee. The biggest fine levied in the tournament so far has been $2,000 against Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic for an audible obscenity during his first-round win over Bohdan Ulihrach. -- Reuters

Bjorkman upset sixth-seeded Tim Henman of Britain in the previous round, but met stiffer resistance in his quarterfinal against his friend and 16th seed Johansson, who reached a career-high ranking of 14th last June.

"I've been to the quarters twice at the U.S. Open but this is something else, it's a great feeling," Johansson said.

In Tuesday's last match, No. 26 Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic beat Stefan Koubek of Austria 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour, 25 minutes to move into the semifinals against Johansson.

Johansson, who last reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2000 U.S. Open, gained a key break of serve in the ninth game of the fourth set when he planted a volley past Bjorkman and served out the match on Rod Laver Arena after two hours and 35 minutes.

"In the first set, I was playing maybe my best tennis ever," Johansson told local television.

His heavy serve blunted Bjorkman's flashy array of groundstrokes and often got him out of trouble as Bjorkman started to find range after the first set.

He blasted 15 aces past Bjorkman and had his opponent on the back foot with another 51 service winners.

"It's very tough to serve against Jonas because he is maybe the best returner on the tour," Johansson said.

In a surprisingly easy start for Johansson, Bjorkman dropped serve three times in an error-strewn opening set.

Bjorkman fought back in the second set, but Johansson backed his strong serve with well-timed net rushes and a string of backhand passing shots.

	Thomas Johansson reached his first Grand Slam semifinal, and could be favored to go even beyond that.

Doubles specialist Bjorkman, known for his ability to improvise unlikely shots out of nothing, beat Johansson with a lob played from between his legs as he ran to the back of the court in the second game of the third set.

Johansson however kept his cool and fended off Bjorkman's challenge despite feeling nervous as he served for the match to cement his best performance at a Grand Slam.

"I was so nervous, I was really, really shaky," he said.

The men's draw was blown wide open when the top five seeds all failed to make it past the first three days and many more fell in the first week.

Seventh seed Tommy Haas is the highest seed left in the tournament. Ninth seed and bookmakers' favorite Marat Safin of Russia also is in Haas's side of the draw.

"If you look forward, it very dangerous because you can lose in your next round," Johansson said. "A lot of seeds have gone out, but all the guys that are left can play well."

Novak will be playing in his first Grand Slam semifinal after his 85-minute victory over Koubek.

"I still can't believe this is happening today," Novak said. "It is just an unbelievable feeling.

"I think that I was playing so well today ... I know Stefan very well and it was a very hard match for me mentally. It was the first time on center court for me in a quarterfinal. I was very nervous."

Koubek had come back from two sets down in his first- and second-round matches and finally ran out of steam.

Novak is the first Czech semifinalist at a Grand Slam since Petr Korda won in Melbourne in 1998.

"I have got nothing to lose now," Novak said. "(Koubek) is ranked higher than me ... beat me the last time we played. I am looking forward to playing him."