Dialled-in and fired up, Novak Djokovic delivered a devastating quarter-final display Wednesday to breeze past Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 at the Australian Open.

Djokovic was taking on the highest-ranked opponent of his Melbourne campaign so far in World No. 6 Rublev, but he took command early and barely looked back in the pair’s maiden Grand Slam meeting. The fourth seed nullified Rublev’s powerful groundstrokes with typically resilient defence and hit cleanly through the ball from the baseline throughout, accelerating to a comfortable two-hour, three-minute victory on Rod Laver Arena.

“Overall I think that the scoreline in the first two sets doesn’t speak the truth or the reality of the match,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview. “It was some really close games that we had. Andrey is a great opponent, a great player. I’ve got tonnes of respect for him, one of the biggest forehands, one of the the quickest players on the Tour.

“If I have to sum it up, all the important shots, the important moments I found my best tennis. So that’s what makes me the most pleased tonight.”

The win backed up Djokovic’s masterful fourth-round display against Alex de Minaur, during which he dropped just five games. His past two performances appear to have quashed any doubts surrounding the 35-year-old’s left hamstring issue, which hampered him in his first three matches at Melbourne Park, as he chases a record-extending 10th Australian Open title.

“I would rank it as number two, but very close to the performance of two nights ago,” said Djokovic. “I cannot be happier with my tennis, honestly. I’m playing very solid from the back of the court and really love playing in these conditions on this court… It’s definitely the most special court for me.”

Djokovic faces Tommy Paul, a 7-6(6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 winner in an all-American clash with Ben Shelton, in the Melbourne semi-finals as he bids to equal Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slam crowns. A title triumph Down Under would also see the 35-year-old return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time since last June.

Rublev clinched his first tour-level win against Djokovic in the Belgrade championship match last April, but Djokovic avenged that defeat with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph at November’s Nitto ATP Finals and he looked just as untroubled in Melbourne on Wednesday. He reeled off five straight games from 1-1 to take the opening set and then seven straight games from 1-2 in the second, never allowing Rublev to settle on serve.

The only real moment of peril for Djokovic came when he faced two break points serving at 4-2 in the second set. After powering a forehand winner to clinch a long rally and save the second of those, the Serbian let out a long roar to the delight of his vocal supporters in the stands. The 92-time tour-level titlist finished the match having won 80 per cent (45/56) of points behind his first serve.

As well as improving his ATP Head2Head record against Rublev to 3-1, Djokovic also equalled Andre Agassi’s Open Era record of 26 consecutive Australian Open men’s singles match wins. The Serbian is unbeaten at the Australian Open from the semi-finals onwards, having lifted the title on all nine occasions when he has reached the last four.

Rublev is now 0-7 in Grand Slam quarter-finals, but the 25-year-old is set to return to his career-high of No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday as a result of his Melbourne run.

Could local support power another title run for a home pairing this year in the Australian Open doubles?

Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler eased to a remarkable victory Wednesday at the hard-court Grand Slam in Melbourne, where the wild cards brushed past top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski 6-3, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals. In doing so, the Australian duo stayed on track to emulate their countrymen Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios’ 2022 triumph at Melbourne Park.

The home favourites broke serve in the opening game of the quarter-final clash and barely looked back thereafter en route to a 66-minute triumph on Kia Arena. Hijikata and Kubler did not face a break point in the match and converted four from 10 break chances of their own against a team who won seven ATP Tour titles in 2022.

Hijikata and Kubler’s semi-final opponents will be eighth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who defeated Andreas Mies and John Peers 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-2. The Spanish-Argentine pair is through to the Melbourne semi-finals for the second straight year after dismissing the 14th-seeded pair that joined forces at the start of 2023.

Granollers/Zeballos saved the only three break points they faced, escaping 0/40 at 5-6 in the second set, but could not carry that momentum into the tie-break. The pair quickly regrouped to take a 3-0 lead in the deciding set, closing out the victory with their third break of the two-hour, 24-minute match.

Consistent partners since 2019, Granollers/Zeballos also reached the Roland Garros semi-finals last season before winning their seventh tour-level title together in Halle. Both men are seeking their first Grand Slam title; they have played in two major finals as a team, at the 2019 US Open and 2021 Wimbledon.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is a man on a mission at this year’s Australian Open. The Greek has earned straight-sets victories in four of his five matches, while he showed fighting spirit to come through his only major test against Jannik Sinner in the fourth round.

After defeating Jiri Lehecka to reach the semi-finals on Tuesday, the third seed was asked if he has what it takes to lift his maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne. His answer was clear.

“I’m feeling great with my tennis. I don’t think I felt so good in a long time. I will definitely say yes [to winning the title],” Tsitsipas said. “I’ve said it, I’m a different player, playing different. My mentality is different. When I’m out on the court, I don’t really think of negatives, to be honest. I just go out there and play the game.”

Tsitsipas is playing for a double prize at the hard-court major. If the 24-year-old wins the trophy, he will rise to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time. With the pressure high, some would struggle both physically and mentally. However, Tsitsipas is relishing the challenge.

“There is this one sort of way of looking at tennis that you’re really exhausted after every match. Every single thing you try to do on the court takes a lot of effort. There’s this other version of tennis where you’re doing your job, but you’re enjoying it so much you don’t care if it’s exhausting or not. You’re refreshed by it every single time,” Tsitsipas said.

“I think I’m heading towards more of that lately than the other thing. I’m very happy to be out on the court. I’m very happy to be performing. I’m very happy to hit some good shots, come in. It’s just this whole dynamic that has made me very hungry and has created a lot of desire for me to be playing tennis, wanting to achieve new things.”

Competing in his fourth Australian Open semi-final, the Greek will aim to reach his maiden final in Melbourne when he plays Karen Khachanov on Friday. The 18th seed moved past Sebastian Korda earlier on Tuesday after the American was forced retire due to a wrist injury.

“It’s a match that I’m looking forward to,” said Tsitsipas, who leads Khachanov 5-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. “Of course, I’m definitely happy with the way I’ve been playing so far. I’m looking ahead for more, for better. Looking to create some magical experiences here in Australia.”

Grand Slam matches are frequently decided by the finest of margins, and so it was for Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday at the Australian Open.

The third-seeded Tsitsipas prevailed 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-4 in the pair’s quarter-final clash at Melbourne Park, although the straight-sets scoreline disguised a closely-fought encounter. The 21-year-old Lehecka showed few signs of nerves on his Rod Laver Arena debut, striking confidently from the baseline throughout, but he was unable to match the Greek’s clinical execution at key moments.

“It felt different this time from any other match [this week], but the most important thing is that at the end I found a solution,” said Tsitsipas after moving within two victories of his maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne. “It was a very difficult three-setter, one of the most difficult ones that I had so far in the competition.

“I think Jiri had a very good tournament. He is someone who started playing well recently and I wish him the best in the future, because he is a great player.”

The win keeps alive Tsitsipas’ hopes of reaching No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time after the Australian Open. Just like fourth seed and nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, the Greek can leapfrog Carlos Alcaraz into top spot by lifting the trophy at the opening Grand Slam of the year.

Tsitsipas saved all eight break points he faced in the two-hour, 17-minute encounter with Lehecka, frequently producing precise and powerful serves to escape tricky situations. Solitary breaks in the first and third sets either side of a scintillating tie-break display in the second clinched the win for the World No. 4, who is now 9-0 for the 2023 season as he prepares for his fourth semi-final appearance at Melbourne Park.

“I had to deal with the groundstrokes that were coming off the racquet from the other side of the court much heavier, much deeper,” said Tsitsipas. “So that was a task in which I had to really put my heart out there and give it my best.

“I know the [second-set] tie-break became a very crucial tie-break [for] who was going to get back into the match. The way I saw it, that was my opportunity to really take a massive lead there, and I’m very happy with the way I closed the second set.”

With the victory, Tsitsipas improved his record in Grand Slam quarter-finals to 6-0. His semi-final opponent will be Karen Khachanov, after the 18th seed earlier led Sebastian Korda 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-0 when the American retired from their quarter-final clash due to a wrist injury.

Despite his defeat, Lehecka can reflect on an impressive run in Melbourne, where he arrived still chasing his first Grand Slam match win. He defeated 21st seed Borna Coric, Christopher Eubanks, 11th seed Cameron Norrie and sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime with a series of high-quality displays.

The Czech, who finished his 2022 season on a high by reaching the championship match at the Next Gen ATP Finals, has lept 32 places to No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Melbourne exploits.