Djokovic, 5th in the world who looks like a fish in water for his return to a country which had refused to issue him a visa a year ago due to non-vaccination against Covid-19, said defeated Canadian left-hander Denis Shapovalov (18th in the world) 6-3, 6-4.

After a few games to get going, "Djoko", at 3-3, then took Shapovalov's service twice in a row to pocket the first set 6-3.

Another successful break early in the next, at 1-1, allowed him to break away 3-1.

Despite the return of the Canadian, Djokovic made the break again at 4-4, to win on the next serve.

Russian Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-final of the Adelaide tournament against his compatriot Karen Khachanov on January 6, 2023 in Adelaide © Brenton EDWARDS / AFP

Medvedev, 7th in the world, dominated his compatriot Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-3.

Facing a player he had not found in front of him since the semi-final of the Masters 1000 in Montreal in August 2019 - which he had won - he won for the third time in four confrontations against him.

"It's never easy to meet a compatriot. I'm happy to have reached the semi-finals by managing to raise the level of my game, especially at the end of each set," he said.

"I'm playing well right now, and honestly that's all that matters."

Korda defeats a diminished Sinner

At 3-3 in the first set, Medvedev placed a boost: he then won twelve of the next fifteen points, scored the break twice and pocketed the first set 6-3.

American Sebastian Korda in the quarter-final of the Adelaide tournament against Italian Jannik Sinner on January 6, 2023 in Adelaide © Brenton EDWARDS / AFP

In the second, Khachanov pulled away 3-1, but Medvedev won the next five games, and the match.

Medvedev and Djokovic will meet for the thirteenth time in what has become a "classic" of the circuit.

The Serb leads 8 wins to 4.

The semi-final at the bottom of the table, much more unexpected, will pit the American Sebastian Korda (33rd in the world) against the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (36th).

Neither are seeded in Adelaide.

Korda, whose father, Petr won the Australian Open in 1998), beat the Italian Jannik Sinner (15th in the world) 7-5, 6-1.

At the end of a hotly contested first run, Sinner had his groin treated and seemed bothered by the injury in a second run largely dominated by Korda.

The American will meet for a place in the final an opponent who will have remained on the court an hour and twenty minutes longer than him, to defeat the Australian Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (8 /10), 6-2.

Which could be a handicap for the Japanese.

Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarter-final of the Adelaide tournament against Australian Alexei Popyrin on January 6, 2023 in Adelaide © Brenton EDWARDS / AFP

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