"I couldn't be happier with my tennis," assured the 35-year-old Serb, who is looking for a 22nd Grand Slam title in Melbourne to equal Rafael Nadal's record, stressing however that the score, in particular of the first set, "did not reflect the harshness of the match".

Each time he has climbed into the last four in Melbourne, Djokovic has won the tournament: he will play his tenth half in the Australian Major and will aim for a tenth final for as many trophies.

"Yes, it's true. I will try to continue to be good on the court," he said with a smile.

If he wins the tournament, which he plays as 5th in the world, he will regain the place of N.1.

Against Rublev, he was imperial in service: he scored 14 aces (including 1 on the second ball) and committed five double faults (including 1 on the very first point of the match).

Above all, he saved the five break points conceded.

"At all the important moments, on all the important points, I knew how to find my best tennis", he underlined.

He thus managed 32 winners and scored a total of 30 points more than his opponent.

However, in the first two sets, he did not seem entirely comfortable in his movements because of his left thigh which was still very firmly bandaged.

To the point of displaying a certain nervousness, in particular on his unforced errors, and of yelling in the direction of his box and in particular of his coach Goran Ivanisevic.

Serbian Novak Djokovic after a point scored in his Australian Open quarter-final against Russian Andrey Rublev on January 25, 2023 in Melbourne © DAVID GRAY / AFP

Not always as precise on the placements as usual, he lost his balance a little on several occasions, as if he wanted to protect his thigh.

Rublev did throw a few of his famous "bweh" hitting forehand attacks, but too few hit the mark.

But in the third set, Djokovic seemed to be better, at the very least he gained serenity.

And the match, already very well underway, has become one-sided.

He broke from the start to lead 2-0 and then kept his advantage without ever shaking while distributing the exchange, while Rublev had to struggle to hold his own face-offs.

Djokovic has repeated that he is unable to train on rest days because he is "connected to machines more than anything else, even (his) bed" in an attempt to keep him fit to play.

"It worked, I'm still here," he said.

As for his next opponent, whom he has never faced in a tournament, Djokovic stressed that the latter had "nothing to lose", since he will play his first Grand Slam semi-final.

Serbian Novak Djokovic in his Australian Open quarter-final against Russian Andrey Rublev on January 25, 2023 in Melbourne © Martin KEEP / AFP

And certainly, Paul has been playing "very well" for a few months, but he does not scare the Serb: "If I play as I played, I have my chances", he commented, underlining the understatement of 'a smile.

© 2023 AFP