Djokovic would finally land his gold last year – which means, with Andy Murray present, three Olympic singles gold medallists will be at court level at Rod Laver Arena on Friday.
Unusually for Zverev, he is well rested in the second week at a Grand Slam, only conceding two sets. He did, however, narrowly avoid trailing by two sets against Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals.
Paul, the AO 2023 semifinalist with the all-court game, served for the first set and led 5-2 in the second but lost them both.
Twelve months ago, while Djokovic fell to Sinner in the semifinals in four sets, Zverev saw Daniil Medvedev overturn a two-set deficit to add to his Grand Slam heartbreak.
Zverev showed his hunger to win that first major for the umpteenth time when it was brought to his attention on Tuesday that he passed countrymen Boris Becker for most Australian Open men’s wins, and Tommy Haas to take sole possession of second among German men in overall Slam victories.
“I think the big difference in the thing that everybody looks at is Boris Becker lifted this trophy twice,” said Zverev, who lost both his Grand Slam finals in five sets.
“I haven’t yet. So that is, I think, way more important than just match wins.
“Of course, I’m happy to be on that list, and I’m happy to be in that conversation of greats in German tennis. But yeah, lifting the trophy is what is on my mind.”
Jannik Sinner [1] v Ben Shelton [21]
Friday, from 7.30pm AEDT
Head-to-head: Sinner leads 4-1
When it comes to hard courts in particular, Sinner hoists the trophies most of the time.
Like his fellow No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, he is the reigning Australian and US Open champion.
Sinner felt he played his best match of the tournament in the quarterfinals, which happened to come at the expense of home favourite Alex de Minaur.
In a matchup he has thrived in – now 10-0 against the Sydney native – Sinner tallied 81 per cent of his second serve points in Wednesday’s night session.
Afterwards, he shed light on his physical state after feeling dizzy against Holger Rune in the fourth round.
“After the match against Holger we made some blood test, some tests,” said the Italian.
“They were all solid, all good.
“Sometimes it can happen that you just feel not that well in that day. (Wednesday) I woke up feeling much, much better. I told my team straightaway that I’m feeling good tonight.
“Obviously playing not with the heat helps you, especially when you are not feeling that well.”
