Alexander Zverev vs Novak Djokovic Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Djokovic backed to reach 11th AO final

After successfully conquering Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, Djokovic now turns his attention to another top four seed - and I'm backing the Serbian superstar to register another victory and reach an 11th Australian Open final. Djokovic has raised his level over his last three rounds, while his record at this tournament speaks for itself - 10 titles and winning 38 of his last 39 matches at Melbourne Park. Zverev has a reputation for choking at the majors and repeatedly comes up short in slams against the game's elite, losing 16 of his last 20 matches vs top 10 opponents. Additionally, Zverev has a 2-6 record in Grand Slam semi-finals. With Djokovic also leading the H2H, the 37-year-old veteran holds all the cards for this heavyweight semi-final showdown on Friday afternoon.

Djokovic leads 8-4 and 5-1 on hardcourt. However, the pair have only squared off once since 2021, with Djokovic prevailing 7-6 7-5 in the Cincinnati 2023 semi-finals.

Zverev won two matches at the United Cup to launch his 2025 season, but there were question marks surrounding his fitness heading into the Australian Open after he pulled out of the UC with a bicep injury.

However, Zverev has showed no signs of discomfort throughout the tournament, reaching his third Australian Open semi-final.

The German won his opening three rounds in straight sets against Lucas Pouille, Pedro Martinez and Jacob Fearnley, which was admittedly one of the kindest first-week draws he could have received.

Things have gotten tougher since then, with Zverev overcoming Ugo Humbert and Tommy Paul in four sets in the R16 and quarter-finals respectively.

Zverev was in real danger against Paul in particular, with the American serving for the first two sets, but getting tight. The 27-year-old's biggest hurdle in slams has been beating top 10 players and the jury is out if his level right now is high enough to take out the 10-time AO champion.

Djokovic's first few matches of the 2025 season weren't very encouraging in terms of the Serbian going on to win a record-extending 11th Australian Open title.

The 37-year-old was knocked out of the Brisbane International quarter-finals by Reilly Opelka, while he dropped a set in underwhelming performances against teenager Nishesh Basavareddy and qualifier Jaime Faria across his opening two rounds at Melbourne Park.

However, as all legends do, Djokovic has raised his level considerably when he needed to, easing past dangerous Czech duo Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka in the third and fourth rounds, while he produced a vintage performance to take out Carlos Alcaraz in four sets in the quarter-finals.

Things looked dicey for Djokovic when he dropped the opening set and appeared to aggravate a groin problem, but the 24-time major winner pulled out all the stops to come back and win in four.