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Four-time winner Novak Djokovic says he’s ready for the fight as he squares off against Australian Open defending champion Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals.
Djokovic has a fifth title in sight after moving into the last four with a clinical victory over Milos Raonic on Wednesday night.
The world No.1 outclassed the Canadian eighth seed on Rod Laver Arena 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-2.
Djokovic and Wawrinka have had some memorable encounters at Melbourne Park.
Two years ago the Serb denied Wawrinka 12-10 in the fifth set of their fourth-round meeting but last year the Swiss got revenge with a 9-7 fifth-set victory in the quarter-finals.
At the 2013 US Open they also battled into the fifth set before Djokovic triumphed.
Djokovic said he felt confident after improving in each match through the tournament.
The 27-year-old boasts stunning statistics of not dropping a set and only his service game once so far.
“Knowing that I have raised the level of performance, and probably playing the best match of the tournament so far is affecting my confidence in a positive way,” Djokovic said.
“Obviously I’m going to play Stan, who is the defending champion here.
“We played five-set matches in 2013 and ’14 Australian Open.
“I’m going to be ready for a fight.”
Djokovic withstood Raonic’s barrage of blistering serves – reaching up to 229km/h hour – as he turned defence into offence with an imposing all-court display.
Djokovic’s own serve was his biggest weapon – winning a stunning 89 per cent of points on his first serve to go through the match without losing his service game.
Djokovic led 6-3 in the first-set tiebreak, wrapping it up after Raonic fired a wild forehand.
The top seed then made an immediate statement in the second set, breaking his opponent, who was bidding to become the first Canadian man to reach the Australian Open semi-finals, in the first game.
It was effectively game over from there.
Djokovic was more than satisfied with his game.
“It was a great performance,” he said. “I’ve got no complaints.
“I returned very well and I served very well so overall just a great match.”
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