German seventh seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a slow start to beat former champion Stan Wawrinka 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 in the Australian Open on Wednesday to reach his first career Grand Slam semi-final.

Swiss Wawrinka, who won the first of his three Grand Slams at Melbourne Park in 2014, broke Zverev twice early in the opening set to breeze through the opening set but the 22-year-old German came roaring back into the contest.

The opening set against Wawrinka was the first Zverev lost in this year's Australian Open but he won the next three sets by breaking his 34-year-old opponent's serve five times.

Zverev converted his first matchpoint when Wawrinka sent a forehand long and the German will meet either world number one Spaniard Rafa Nadal or Austrian Dominic Thiem for a place in Sunday's final.