Novak’s clean bill of health is timely

NOVAK DJOKOVIC warned that he was back to full fitness after reaching his ninth Australian Open final by ending Aslan Karatsev’s fairytale run.

The world No1, left, then predicted he would be facing another Russian in Daniil Medvedev on Sunday.

The eight-time champion suffered an abdominal injury in the third round and played with painkillers.

But after beating the world No114 Karatsev 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 – and making only one unforced error in the first 15 games – the Serb said: “This is the best I’ve felt in the entire tournament.

“I felt great. I could swing through the ball. No pain.

“I’m surprised at the way I felt. It surpassed, in a way, my greatest wishes and the way I wanted to feel.

“It certainly came at the right time – before the last match in a Grand Slam.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Rafa Nadal in the quarterfinals, now has the task of ending Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak in today’s other semi-final.

“Daniil Medvedev is the player to beat,” said Djokovic. “He probably plays at the highest level in the past three or four months. I’m going to take the popcorn and enjoy it [watching the game].”

Karatsev, making his Grand Slam debut as a qualifier, had been bidding to become the lowest-ranked man to reach a major final since Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001 ranked No125.

The Russian, who had earned £472,000 since turning pro in 2009, has the compensation of banking £443,000 and breaking into the world’s top 50. “Now I will be playing all big tournaments without playing the qualifiers,” he said.