Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Lucas Pouille (28)
In what will be their first career meeting, Djokovic will be the heavy favorite. Pouille is an extremely surprising semifinalist, especially considering he was 0-5 in Melbourne prior to this fortnight. With his new coach, Amelie Mauresmo, Lucas has quickly turned his career around after a meandering 2018 that saw him lose almost as many matches as he won. Pouille was in danger of being eliminated in the third round here to an Australian wild card, 19-Year-Old Alexei Popyrin. Lucas survived that five-setter, and went on to upset two top 16 seeds: Borna Coric and Milos Raonic. The 24-year-old Frenchman’s victory over Raonic on Wednesday featured some of the best tennis I’ve ever seen from Pouille, hitting 62 winners and only 24 unforced errors. Pouille had to work hard though in that three-hour quarterfinal, while Djokovic played for less than an hour in his, due to Kei Nishikori’s retirement. Overall Lucas has spent about 50% more time on court than Novak to this point.
Djokovic is yet to be truly tested at this tournament, only dropping two sets overall, in matches he still won comfortably. Novak might normally be worried about Friday’s weather forecast, as it’s due to be another scorcher in Melbourne. But this will be a night match, and temperatures are supposed to dramatically dip by match time. The world No.1 will also find comfort in this stat: he’s never lost a match at the Australian Open when he’s the top seed, which now encompasses five trips down under. And Djokovic has never lost a semifinal at this tournament. He’s 6-0 at this stage, and has won the title each time he’s advanced to the semis. All of this spells massive trouble for Pouille, who doesn’t have too much in his game that can threaten Djokovic. His only real shot would be to play his best tennis for three full sets, and even then he’d likely need to get less than Djokovic’s best in return. That’s highly unlikely to take place on this stage, and in the biggest match of Lucas’ career to date.
