High noon in Melbourne sees Sinner gunning for Djokovic, Medvedev facing Zverev
Sinner is as close as he has ever come to winning a major, having also reached the semis of Wimbledon last year, where he was beaten handily by Djokovic.
Motoring through the Melbourne Park draw without dropping a set, Sinner has shown both patience and power to send his rivals packing. He also showed no shortage of resilience to beat Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev (26) in the last round.
But he will need power, patience, resilience and a whole lot more on Friday if he is to defeat Djokovic, who is looking to move past Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam crowns by winning an 11th Australian Open title.
The Serb lost to Sinner in the group stage of the ATP Finals in November, and while he turned the tables on the Italian in the final, he then lost to him again in their singles match-up at the Davis Cup.
Sinner tasted yet another victory against Djokovic in the Davis Cup doubles as Italy won the title for the first time in nearly 50 years.
After putting Rublev to the sword on Tuesday, Sinner said he felt "lucky" to be facing Djokovic again in the final match of the day session on Rod Laver Arena.
"This is one of the biggest tournaments in the world; happy that I can play against the number one in the world - he's won here sometimes - but it's going to be tough," he said.
"The only thing I can control is that I will give 100% and fight for every ball. We'll see what the outcome will be."
The other semi-final on Friday pits 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev (27) against big-serving Alexander Zverev (26) in the night session.
Medvedev, who is looking to book his place in a third Melbourne final in four years, has won 11 of his 18 matches against his German opponent but the Russian's fitness is being tested to the fullest.
The third seed has won only one match in straight sets so far, and after an epic five-set quarter-final victory over Hubert Hurkacz (26) on Wednesday he said he felt "destroyed."
Zverev sent out a statement of intent with a clinical win over second seed Carlos Alcaraz (20) - his first over a top-five rival at a major - and is hoping for a reversal of fortunes after losing five of their last six meetings.
"He has been kicking my ass in recent matches. I'm hoping that this will be the place that changes," Zverev said.
"I hope I can get some support in the match."
