What to Watch on Wednesday, Day 11 at the Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) A blockbuster Australian Open semifinal between No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Roger Federer will be the latest installment in the tennis rivalry that has come to define recent seasons.
It will be a rematch of last year's final at the U.S. Open and at Wimbledon, both of which Djokovic won.
''We are, you know, big rivals,'' said Djokovic, the defending champion. ''We've played so many times against each other. There's a lot of tension. There's a lot at stake. I'm expecting a great fight.''
It will be the 15th time Djokovic and Federer meet in a Grand Slam, extending their own record for the most matchups at the majors in the Open era, which started in 1968.
It will be the 45th matchup overall between the two players who are tied at 22 wins each.
For Djokovic, it offers a chance to re-assert his dominance after finishing the best season of his career. He finished 2015 at No. 1 for the fourth time in five years, after winning at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and reaching the final at the French Open.
He has won 10 Grand Slam titles and is gaining on Federer's record 17.
For Federer, it offers a chance to prove that his best is not entirely behind him. He hasn't won a major since Wimbledon 2012, where he beat Djokovic in the semifinals.
At 34, Federer is playing remarkable tennis. But at 28, Djokovic is still in his prime with many years to go.
Federer was asked how meaningful it would be to win another major in the Djokovic era.
''It would mean a lot to me, no doubt about it,'' Federer said. ''It's part of the reason why I guess I'm still playing.''
Both Djokovic and Federer are bidding to become the first man in the Open era to reach six Australian Open finals - of which Djokovic has won five and Federer four.
Some things to watch in the women's semifinals:
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WILLIAMS VS. RADWANSKA: William has a serious winning record against Radwanska, eight wins and zero losses. The last time they met in a Grand Slam was the Wimbledon final in 2012, when Williams won in three sets. Radwanska was ranked in the 30s back then, and she's now No. 4 in the world. Williams, meanwhile, has continued to be a dominant No. 1. ''It will be a good match. She's been playing really well towards the end of the year, and already this year she's been very consistent,'' Williams said of Radwanska, who won a warmup event in Shenzhen. ''She presents a completely different game, an extremely exciting game. So I think it will be a long match and it will be a good match to see where I am.''
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KERBER VS. KONTA: These are two players not used to getting this far in a Grand Slam tournament - No. 7-seeded Kerber has done it twice, once each at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, and Konta never. No surprise, then, they haven't played each other as most of the 24-year-old Konta's successes have come in lower-tier tournaments, not on the main WTA tour. Konta was born in Sydney, Australia but took British citizenship in 2012 after having lived there since 2005. She also carries a Hungarian passport because her parents are from there, so she refers to herself as a ''tri-citizen.'' The schedule meant that her half of the draw got an extra day off at the beginning of the tournament, so Konta, who beat Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai on Wednesday, has to back up - as does Kerber - and play twice in two days. Not that it matters to her. ''No, no, that's absolutely fine,'' she says. ''I mean, I think I would be a real princess if I was complaining.''
