Novak Djokovic enjoys 'best match so far' to cruise into Australian Open final

Novak Djokovic has warned he is feeling better than he has all tournament after dominating Aslan Karatsev to reach his ninth Australian Open final.

The top seed had been bothered in his past three matches by an abdominal tear he sustained during the third round, and the injury was serious enough for him to admit that he would retire were it not a Grand Slam event.

But there were no fitness issues on Thursday as Djokovic outclassed his opponent 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 inside a Rod Laver Arena that welcomed back fans after a snap five-day coronavirus lockdown in Victoria state.

“This is the best I’ve felt in the entire tournament," Djokovic, 33, said in his on-court interview. "I felt great, I could swing through the ball, no pain, the best match so far, and it came at the right time. I’m thrilled, for sure.”

In Karatsev, Djokovic faced a game challenger and the power and aggression that carried the world No 114 through qualifying and into the semi-finals on his Grand Slam debut were on show.

Once Djokovic found his groove and earned his first break for a 5-3 lead, though, the eight-time Australian Open champion took total control and Karatsev was second best for much of the rest of the contest.

The 27-year-old Russian did have his moments, most notably a couple of breaks on Djokovic's serve, but there was only ever going to be one winner, and the defending champion sealed the win after an hour and 53 minutes with an ace.

Defeat spelled the end for an historic run by Karatsev, who is the first male player to reach a Grand Slam semi-final on debut. He is projected to surge up the world rankings to the top 50.

“Huge congratulations to him on his debut," Djokovic said of his beaten opponent. "He reached the semi-finals, which I don’t think has ever happened in the history of tennis, so well done to him. He played a great tournament.”

Next up for Djokovic is a showdown with either Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev or Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who produced a remarkable comeback to defeat Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals. Tsitsipas will need to deliver another stellar performance in the semi-finals to beat a player currently on a 19-match winning run.

Whomever advances to Sunday's showpiece, they will be attempting to become the first player to beat Djokovic in an Australian Open final.

"I thought Stefanos did incredibly well to hang in there against Rafa who was playing amazing. It was a high quality match, probably the best of the tournament so far. Both players were playing at an extremely high level," said Djokovic, who is bidding for an 18th major title.

"But speaking about high level, Medvedev is the guy. He’s been playing at the highest level of anyone over the last three or four months. It’s going to be interesting to see them play, both are playing great. I’m going to grab some popcorn and enjoy it."