By Tony Fairbairn
- Alexander Zverev [2] v Novak Djokovic [7]
- Jannik Sinner [1] v Ben Shelton [21]
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Novak Djokovic’s bid for a historic 25th Grand Slam title must go through Alexander Zverev as they battle in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
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Alexander Zverev [2] v Novak Djokovic [7] | H2H: Djokovic leads 8-4
Having been so close at Grand Slam glory last year, Alexander Zverev is more motivated than ever before to break his Grand Slam curse in 2025. The German has played impressive tennis and his four set win over Tommy Paul shows that he is ready to rise to the occasion in the big moments in order to achieve his childhood dream. Standing in Zverev’s way of a place in the final is ten-time champion Novak Djokovic after the Serb overcame Carlos Alcaraz to reach the final four and continue his bid for history.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Alexander Zverev [2] v Novak Djokovic [7] | H2H: Djokovic leads 8-4 |
| Australian Open 2025 | Melbourne, Australia |
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A second consecutive Australian Open semi-final for Zverev as the German has continued his impressive form from last season.
The world number two will be more determined than ever to break his Grand Slam curse having been two sets and a break up in his previous two Grand Slam finals.
In order for Zverev to get to the final, he will need to get past ten-time champion Djokovic who is into a 12th Australian Open semi-final after outlasting Alcaraz in four sets.
Despite suffering an injury, Djokovic is hungrier than ever before to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam and will be hoping he can continue to show that age is just a number when it comes to shattering all records in tennis.
After his quarter-final win over Paul, Zverev spoke about his dream of winning a Grand Slam and admitted he is happy to be in the final four after nearly going two sets down against the American.
“I should’ve been down two sets to love. I feel like I stole both of those sets in a way, because he was playing better than me, and he was serving for both of those sets,” Zverev told the Australian Open website.
“I’m going to do everything I can to be in another [final] on Sunday. Lifting the trophy is what’s on my mind. I want to achieve my dream of winning a Grand Slam, and I’m chasing that. I’m obviously extremely happy to be back in the semifinals.”
Meanwhile Djokovic spoke about being more connected to coach Andy Murray and admitted he is concerned about his injury ahead of the semi-finals.
“I felt to do it in the end of the match. I feel more and more connected with Andy every day,” Djokovic told the ATP website.
“We face challenges every single day. People don’t see that obviously. We try to make the most out of every day and grow together. He’s been as committed to my career and this tournament as he can be.
“It was kind of a gesture of appreciation, respect for him, and the fact that he’s out there, and he doesn’t need to be. He accepted to work with me. He’s giving all his support to me, to the whole team, and trying to make it work.
“The extra day with no match comes at a good time. I have to assess the situation tomorrow when I wake up. I will try to do as much as I possibly can with my recovery team, with my physio today, tomorrow, the next few days. Probably skip training tomorrow. I’ll see if I’m going to train in two days or not.
“I’ll take it day by day. Now it’s really about recovery. I’m concerned. I am, to be honest, physically. But if I manage somehow to be physically good enough, I think mentally, emotionally I’m as motivated as I can be.”
Zverev will look to be aggressive on serve as he will use the backhand to force Djokovic behind the baseline as he aims to set up shorter balls in order to be aggressive.
As for Djokovic, the Serb will look to take advantage of the faster conditions in order to be aggressive on serve and attack the Zverev forehand.
This should be an entertaining semi-final with both players feeling confident about their game but if Djokovic can continue to maintain a high level of play then the Serb should reach an 11th Australian Open final.
Prediction: Djokovic in four sets.
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Jannik Sinner [1] v Ben Shelton [21] | H2H: Sinner leads 4-1
Jannik Sinner continued his title defence with a dominant win over Alex De Minaur as he has overcome illness to reach the semi-finals. The Italian is on a different level to the rest of the field at the moment and the world number one is handling his first Grand Slam title defence with maturity as he continues to show why he is the best in the world at the moment. Next up for Sinner is Ben Shelton who is into his first Australian Open semi-final with a four set win over Sinner’s compatriot Lorenzo Sonego.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Jannik Sinner [1] v Ben Shelton [21] | H2H: Sinner leads 4-1 |
| Australian Open 2025 | Melbourne, Australia |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: A$1,100,000 |
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After a scare in his fourth round match, Sinner cruised into the final four and is now two wins away from defending his Australian Open title.
The world number one is now on a 19 match winning streak in best of five set matches on hard courts and it will take something special to stop the Italian in Melbourne as he continues to prove why he is the best in the world.
Standing in Sinner’s way is Shelton after the American has gone about his business smoothly in order to reach a first semi-final in Melbourne.
Now the American will aim to be consistent and explosive as he looks to do much better than his previous Grand Slam semi-final, which was in New York in 2023.
After his quarter-final win over De Minaur, Sinner admitted he was happy wit his performance and talked about how he recovered from illness.
“I feel like today I was feeling everything. On days like this, when you break quite early in each set, it’s a little bit easier. He’s a tough competitor and an amazing player… We know each other quite well now,” Sinner told the ATP website.
“We’ve played each other so many times and we try to understand each others games, and try to prepare ourselves in the best possible way. These kinds of matches, they can go quickly, but also they can change very fast if I go down with my level a little bit and he takes opportunities. I’m very happy about my performance today.
“I played just half an hour or 40 minutes with my coaches. They gave me a good rhythm. Talking about general physicality, especially when you are young, you recover very fast. I really like to sleep, so I just tried to rest in the best possible way and not do so many things. I just tried to relax, recover and to get ready for the quarter-final.”
Meanwhile Shelton admitted that his improved endurance has taken him by surprise and previewed his clash with Sinner.
“I’m not sure this is what I expected when my career started,” Shelton told the Australian Open website.
“Honestly, as a kid, once I stopped playing football, I was always a little bit heavy. Not fat, but just, like, heavy, carrying a lot of weight. I always struggled physically. I would get deep in matches, and I’d be cramping or tired and have no energy left. For me to be able to handle the physicality of five sets … it’s really special at these big tournaments.
“I’ve been, in terms of my baseline play, a bit more conservative this tournament, okay with going deep in rallies. Probably have to step that up a little bit in the semifinals. I’m figuring out ways to make guys uncomfortable without just playing at my upper limits and slapping.
“I think that any time you get to line up against the best in the world is a great opportunity to improve your game and see where you’re at, and that’s what Friday will be for me.”
Sinner will continue to serve aggressively as he targets the backhand of Shelton in order to hit forehand cross-court winners.
Meanwhile Shelton will have to pick his moments to be aggressive as he looks to be explosive on serve.
The current form of Shelton suggests he will give Sinner a stern test but the Italian should have too much consistent quality in order to reach his second consecutive Australian Open final.
Prediction: Sinner in four sets.
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