Preview Australian Open Day Thirteen | Alcaraz and Zverev face off once more in Melbourne while Sinner and Djokovic lock horns for spot in final

Full attention is now turned to the men's semi-finals at the 2026 Australian Open, with just two places up for grabs in the final of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.

The usual suspects of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have traversed the pathway to this stage, with the both of them possibly on a collision course for a fourth consecutive Grand Slam final. Different motives to win the title, but the same reward is at the end of the line.

This reward will also be hunted relentlessly by Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, who look to take down the big two to cause a surprise Down Under. It is the fifth time in the Open Era that the top four ranked players on the ATP Tour have all made it to the last four of a major tournament, the first since this event 14 years ago.

The first semi-final, unlike the women's, will be played in the heat of the day, another thing that the players must cope with. Fortunately, it will not be going into the ridiculous 40 Degree Celsius range competitors have had to play through, with the duo both managing to get through this obstacle among others to reach this point.

It has been a really impressive showing from Alcaraz, who has finally made it past the quarter-final stage at Melbourne Park. The last two years he lost at that stage, in 2024 to Zverev and last year to Djokovic. Now, he has finally reached the semi-finals in all four majors and will be targeting the final in all of them with a win against the German.

The career Grand Slam accolade has been mentioned a lot, with Iga Swiatek in the WTA tournament unable to get this feat completed. For the Spaniard, the quest is very much on, and he has backed it up with a variety of great performances. Yet to drop a set, he blasted his way past Adam Walton, Yannick Hanfmann, Corentin Moutet and last year's quarter-finalist Tommy Paul to set up a clash against the Aussie number one Alex de Minaur in what was set to be a thriller on Rod Laver Arena.

The world number one showed an incredibly high level, coming through a very tight first set before going up the gears for the rest of the match, with the world number six unable to keep up with this relentless tennis coming back at him. Alcaraz dropped three games for the rest of the match, sailing into the semi-final where Zverev was already patiently waiting after he blitzed his way through the competition.

While we talk about career Grand Slam ambitions for Alcaraz, Zverev is still looking for his first. Three finals have come, including the 2024 French Open final against the Spaniard, and all three have ended in defeat. The most recent came last year when he was in fine form, but still was unable to get the result intended against a rampant Sinner.

After a bit of an average 2025, he ended the year on the front foot despite an early exit in the ATP Finals. He started this year strong, showing positive signs in his quest to recuperate the points from last year. If not, a slide down the rankings was guaranteed. If he was to get knocked out at this point, he would be overtake by Djokovic, with Zverev currently dropping 500 points.

He overcame some really tough matches early on, coming through in four sets against Gabriel Diallo, Alexandre Muller and Cameron Norrie. He was in a battle in the early stages of all those matches, but improved throughout to fend off the tricky customers. He then swept aside an impressive Francisco Cerundolo before putting in a fantastic performance against young American sensation Learner Tien to set up this showdown against Alcaraz.

The head to head shows for good reading for both players, with them tied with six wins a piece. Unfortunately for Zverev, the more recent form points in the direction of Alcaraz who since losing in that Australian Open quarter-final has won three of the prior four clashes. Another tomorrow would put him on the cusp of history, while Zverev is looking to break some new ground of his own.

As evening dawns over the Melbourne skyline, two former Australian Open winners take to the stage. Both players have had very different routes to the semi-final stage, but have also shown glimpses of their brilliance throughout.

Sinner comes into the event as the two-time reigning champion after making this place his over the last couple of years. It was the scene of his first Grand Slam triumph, overcoming Daniil Medvedev after finding himself two sets down. He then got the better of Zverev last year to take the glory once more, and is the strong favourite to do it again and win a third major title in Australia, and fifth overall.

The world number two has had his problems getting to this part of the competition, but it has been overlooked by complete and utter dominant tennis at times, showcasing his ridiculously consistent level he possesses on the biggest stages, making him almost impossible to beat aside from a herculean effort.

Enroute to the semi-finals, he has taken down Hugo Gaston and James Duckworth before coming into a lot of trouble against Eliot Spizzirri. The Italian was 3-1 down in the third with the score tied at 1-1 when he started to suffer with cramp in the relentless Australian heatwave. After a suspension in play, he recovered and managed to see the match out. He then made lightwork of his fellow Italian Luciano Darderi before three breaks of serve against Ben Shelton was enough to get the job done and book his spot in a sixth consecutive major semi-final.

It is a fifth last four appearance on the spin for Djokovic, who has failed to make it past this stage in all four occasions last year. It is a stark difference from his usual dominant self on the big stage, consistently running into either Alcaraz or Sinner and being unable to get the job on them.

His last Grand Slam triumph came in the 2023 US Open, which was also the year of his most recent Australian Open win where he defeated Stefanos Tsipsipas in straight sets. In total, he has won 10 Australian Open titles, first back in 2008 against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He has been utterly dominant in this part of the world for many years, with the last time he competed without making it to the semi-final stage at least coming in 2018. When making it to a final, he has never lost, and will be hoping to repat this trick.

The Serbian has to first get there, and it is fair to say that he has had an interesting couple of weeks. The 38-year-old put on a brilliant serving display against Pedro Martinez before finding a way past qualifier Francesco Maestrelli and Botic Van de Zandschulp in straight sets. He then received a walkover after Jakub Mensik withdrew from the tournament, giving an extra couple days off ahead of his quarter-final clash against the world number five Lorenzo Musetti. After going down two sets, it looked concerning for Djokovic. However, his fortunes would soon be reversed as the Italian was forced to retire in the third set when trailing 3-1.

This means that Djokovic has not won a set since the third round, and yet still finds himself one win away from the final. He will not get any second chances against Sinner, and he knows that. Their last five meetings have gone the way of Sinner, with Djokovic managing to clinch just one set in said matches. Coincidentally, it was in the 2024 Australian Open semi-final where Sinner won in four sets. Sinner will be happy with another result like that, but it will not be easy if Djokovic finds his A-game.