Novak Djokovic puts his 33-match unbeaten Australian Open run to the test against Jannik Sinner on Rod Laver Arena on Friday.
The world number one has not been beaten at Melbourne Park since a fourth-round loss to Chung Hyeon back in 2018, with only two opponents in the intervening six years managing to push him to five sets.
Djokovic appears to have recovered from the illness that was troubling him at the start of the fortnight, but was tested in a four-set quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz and, if anyone is going to end his streak, Sinner appears a prime candidate.
The 22-year-old beat Djokovic twice in successive weeks at the end of last season at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup, where he led Italy to the title, and is the only player in the men’s draw yet to drop a set.
“This is what I practise for, to play against the best players in the world,” said Sinner. “Obviously he has an incredible record here, so for me it’s a pleasure to play against him, especially in the final stages of the tournament where things are a little bit more interesting.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be tough. This, I know. I will control the controllable, which is giving 100 per cent, having the right attitude, fighting for every ball. And then we see the outcome. More than this, I cannot do. It doesn’t really matter who my opponent is.”
Sinner reached his first slam semi-final at Wimbledon last summer but lost in straight sets to Djokovic, who is tantalisingly close to a record-breaking 25th major title.
This has not been one of his more straightforward paths through the draw in Melbourne, but his desire to continue racking up the biggest titles remains unquestionable.
“I’m aware of the streak that I’m on and the amount of matches that I have won in my career on the Rod Laver Arena,” said Djokovic.
“I don’t want to let that go. The longer the streak goes, the more that kind of confidence, also expectations, build, but also the willingness to really walk the extra mile.”
The second semi-final pits two very familiar opponents against each other in the shape of third seed Daniil Medvedev and sixth seed Alexander Zverev.
Medvedev is bidding to reach his third final at Melbourne Park in the last four years while Zverev crashed the top-four party by defeating Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday for his best victory at a slam.
Medvedev and Zverev, who are certainly not the best of friends, have played each other 18 times previously but strangely never at a slam.
Russian Medvedev leads the head-to-head 11-7 having won five of the six matches they played last season, but Zverev took time to get back to his best after a serious ankle injury.
“A lot of matches were extremely close,” said the German, who lost his only grand slam final at the US Open in 2020.
“A lot of the times it came down to him being extremely confident last year, him playing some of the best tennis of his life, and me coming back from injury and not having the confidence in deciding moments and not being able to finish matches.
“He’s obviously extremely difficult to play. No question about it. He’s one of the best players in the world right now. But I’m happy in the position I am, and I’m going to do everything I can to win that match on Friday.”
Djokovic thrilled by prospect of 'one last dance' with Nadal
Novak Djokovic is thrilled by the prospect of meeting Rafael Nadal for "one last dance" at the Paris Olympics, if the Spaniard overcomes an injury setback to feature at Roland-Garros.
Thursday's men's singles draw saw Djokovic paired with Australia's Matthew Ebden in the first round, with Nadal taking on Marton Fucsovics.
The legendary duo – who have won 46 grand slam singles titles between them – will meet in the second round if they both advance through their openers this weekend.
Djokovic and Nadal have previously faced off on 59 occasions, with the Serbian winning 30 of those contests but losing four of the last six, the most recent being a Nadal victory in four sets in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals.
Nadal's participation at the Games was thrown into doubt when his coach Carlos Moya said he had suffered a "setback" on Thursday and required 48 hours of rest.
If Nadal – who is widely expected to retire later this year – does make the tournament, Djokovic is looking forward to the prospect of facing him for a 60th time.
"Obviously he hasn't played much. His ranking dropped, so there was always going to be that possibility of me meeting him in an early round and there we go," Djokovic said.
"It's going to be a spectacle, definitely, if we get to meet. We will spread some fireworks on the court, like the good old times.
"I hope we get to meet because it will probably be one last dance for the both of us."
Djokovic is set to appear at his fifth Olympics in the French capital, the joint-most by any male player since the sport returned to the Games in 1988 (with Yen Hsun Lu).
He is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Roger Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.
However, his best result at the Games remains a Bronze medal at Beijing 2008, when he was beaten by eventual gold medallist Nadal in the semi-finals.
Djokovic lost the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, also losing to Juan Martin del Potro at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Linette dominates first all-Polish WTA final to win Prague Open
Magda Linette rounded off her Olympic preparations in style as she claimed her third WTA title with a comfortable win over Magdalena Frech at the Prague Open.
Linette, who beat Viktoriya Tomova and Linda Noskova on her way to the final, won in straight sets 6-2 6-1 as she now heads to Paris to face Mirra Andreeva.
The world number 41 was in the ascendency from the off, forcing a break in the fourth game and never looking back.
Despite the best efforts of Frech, who saved one set point, Linette continued to apply the pressure and another break put her a set up.
Linette would again break in the fourth game of the second set, winning three games on the bounce to secure her first career win over her compatriot.
Data Debrief: Linette prevails in first all-Polish affair
The final in Prague between Linette and Frech was the first all-Polish WTA level final in the Open Era.
Linette's triumph over her opponent was her first, having lost in the pair's previous encounter in Saint-Malo back in 2022.
During the contest, the world number 41 gave nothing away, saving all four of the break points she faced while converting three of the seven she had against Frech.
Nadal suffers injury 'setback' as Olympics participation thrown into doubt
Rafael Nadal may be facing another injury setback at the Paris Olympic Games after his coach warned over the Spaniard's fitness.
The 22-time major champion is widely expected to retire at the end of this year, though is preparing for a final swansong at Roland-Garros, where he has won 14 titles.
Nadal is set to play in the singles and doubles tournaments of the Olympics, partnering current French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz for the latter competition.
Yet his participation has become doubtful after coach Carlos Moya confirmed Nadal had cancelled his training session on Thursday due to a hamstring issue.
"It was a setback and we decided that today Rafa would rest and not train to recover," Moya said, as quoted by Spanish journalist Rafael Plaza.
"We are going to give ourselves 48 hours, we have to wait."
The 38-year-old is reportedly feeling soreness in both his left and right hamstring having pulled out of a scheduled practice session with Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz had been partnering Nadal throughout the week during training on the clay courts of Paris, though the veteran's feature has now been thrown under a cloud of doubt.
Nadal is one of just two players to have won Olympic gold in both singles and doubles since the sport returned to the Games in 1988, doing so at Beijing 2008 (singles) and Rio 2016 (doubles).
In the singles in the French capital, Nadal has been drawn against Hungary's Marton Fucsovics in the opening round, and the prize could be a second-round date with long-term rival Novak Djokovic.
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