Novak Djokovic admits his quest to win this year's Australian Open is being driven by the hurt he felt when he was deported 12 months ago, as well as his ongoing injury concern.
Djokovic stormed into his 10th Australian Open semifinal with a convincing 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev in their quarterfinal on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night.
The Serb's dominant performance backed up his thrashing of Australia's Alex de Minaur in the fourth round, indicating he is close to peak form at the business-end of the tournament.
He also showed no signs of the hamstring injury he has been carrying throughout the tournament.
Djokovic has not shied away from speaking about the pain he felt following his deportation from Australia last January, which forced him to miss the season-opening major.
This year's Australian Open campaign has been engulfed in drama of a different kind, with nine-time champion Djokovic nursing a leg injury amid speculation his ailment is not as severe as he has made out.
At his post-match media conference on Wednesday, Djokovic agreed with the suggestion made that he was more determined to win in Melbourne than previous years.
"You could say that there is something extra this year," Djokovic said.
"You could say because [of] the injury, what happened last year. I just wanted to really do well."
Djokovic showed no mercy against Rublev, an opponent he lost to on clay on Belgrade this year.
He broke the Russian's serve five times, while he sent down 14 aces in his service games.
The 21-time major singles winner seems to have lifted a gear in his past two matches and it is hard to see unseeded American Tommy Paul making any impression in Friday's semifinal.
"To beat them (Rublev and de Minaur) dominantly in three sets is definitely something that I want in this moment, something that sends a message to all my opponents remaining in the draw," Djokovic said.
"With this kind of game, of course the confidence level rises, considering the circumstances. I feel good on the court, better and better as the tournament progresses. I've been in this situation in so many times in my life, in my career."
Rublev had few opportunities to put Djokovic under pressure, having failed to convert any of the five break points he had on his opponent's serve.
He said he had not given much thought to Djokovic's physical condition in the lead-up to the match, instead focusing on his own game and emotional state.
"I was just trying not to think about it (Djokovic's injury)," Rublev said.
"I was just trying to keep telling to myself to don't give up, to try to play one extra game, you never know what can happen. Just to stay in the game, don't try to mentally give up."
Paul, who had never gone beyond the fourth round at a major before this tournament, reached the semifinals by defeating countryman Ben Shelton 7-6 (8/6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Greece's third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas meets 18th-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov in the other semifinal.
