American great Jim Courier predicts the lingering cloud over the fitness of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will not impact the pair's ability to book a spot in the men's final.
Sinner appeared to be struggling to breathe and trembling against Holger Rune and has admitted he's still not 100 per cent, while Djokovic battled an upper leg issue in his victory over Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic clashes with world No.2 Alexander Zverev in the semi finals in a bid to push closer to an 11th title at Melbourne Park, but his fitness status remains a mystery.
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The Serbian star admitted he has concerns around his health ahead of the semi final clash, having revealed that he may have quit his quarter final after the second set had Alcaraz won it to take a two sets-to-love lead.
With Sinner having made a fast recovery from an unconfirmed case of pneumonia, Courier tipped the world No.1's better health to be the likely reason for Djokovic's hunt for a 25th major title to be extended.
"It will take something special for a new champion to emerge here," Courier told Nine.
"I think it'll be Novak and Sinner (in the final). I would say Sinner (wins), because we know he has the illness behind him… We're not sure about Novak. That's the question.
"There's certainly big question marks over the injury that he sustained in the left groin area. He struggled to move for a set amount of time and then the medication kicked in and he said it felt like it was normal.
"He also said he wasn't sure how it will be after the medication wears off.
"He will have treated it today. We'll see him on the grounds having a hit later today. If he is fit and moving as he is, it's very likely he'll make it into the finals."
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Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev are interviewed during the Night with Novak charity event. Getty
Djokovic has faced his semi final rival 12 times on tour, holding an advantage of 8-4 in their head-to-head battles.
Zverev has had a great run since his last meeting with Djokovic, advancing to the final at the 2024 French Open in arguably his best season, which culminated in his rise to No.2 in the world.
He won 69 matches in 2024 and two Masters 1000 titles, yet Courier favoured Djokovic to defeat Zverev in the semi final.
"The way he plays is so exceptional against Zverev," Courier said.
"Zverev is a very, very good player player (but) even though he is the number two ranked player… Novak is still the favourite."
Djokovic will face the top-ranked German on Thursday afternoon, while Sinner returns to court in the evening against America's Ben Shelton.
