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Novak Djokovic has comprehensively dismantled Japanese rising star Kei Nishikori on the ninth night of the Australian Open, setting up a blockbuster semi-final with Swiss legend Roger Federer.
Any concerns about the Serbian's form and fitness -- following his fourth-round slogfest against Frenchman Gilles Simon on Sunday -- were quickly forgotten, as the world No.1 romped to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Nishikori.
Djokovic wasn't spooked by the memory of his loss to Nishikori in 2014 U.S. Open semi-finals, sailing into the semi-finals with an effortless straight-sets win.
The clear distinction between the pair on this night, 16 months on from when Nishikori shocked the world No.1, came when converting break points.
Djokovic converted three of his six chances through the first two sets, while the 26-year-old couldn't capitalize on any of his five.
It was all one-way traffic until Nishikori converted his seventh break-point chance in the second game of the third set.
But, as the old saying goes, it's not a break unless you hold serve -- and Djokovic broke back twice in consecutive games to crush the seventh seed's hopes of a staging a storybook comeback.
Nishikori blew his last lifeline on serve in the sixth game of the last set, leaving Djokovic to close out the young gun three games later without any further hullabaloo.
After the one-sided quarter-final on Rod Laver Arena, the 28-year-old revealed he put down the racket in preparation for tonight's match, giving himself some time away from the court after a gruelling five-setter and hectic early-season schedule.
"I haven't practiced," Djokovic said court-side on Tuesday night.
"I didn't hit a tennis ball (yesterday). It happens. Sometimes, it's actually good to rest your mind and rest your body.
"Less is more, sometimes. I've played a lot of tennis ever since I started preparations for the season. I've played, more or less, everyday."
The win thrusts Djokovic into all-too-familiar territory, with the four-time Open champion through to his fifth semi-final at Melbourne Park in six years.
He will also be familiar with his next opponent, Federer, with the two champions set to square off in a Grand Slam for the 15th time.
Although the two have largely shared the spoils over the years, posting 21 wins apiece against each other, Djokovic has been scrambling to even out the head-to-head figure after Federer's early dominance.
Even though Djokovic enjoyed a career-best (82 win-6 loss) season last year, the Swiss master was still able to dish out exactly half (three) of his 2015 defeats.
That said, Federer has not beaten Djokovic at a Slam since their semi-final at Wimbledon in 2012.
Earlier on Tuesday, Federer blitzed past Czech Tomas Berdych to reach his 40th Grand Slam semi-final.
The Swiss sultan wound back the clock to his Australian Open glory days of 2004, 2006. 2007 and 2010, hammering Berdych 7-6 (7- 4), 6-2, 6-4 in a touch over two hours.
Despite not having captured the Norman Brooks trophy since 2010, Federer will take immense confidence into his 12th Open semi-final in 13 years.
The 17-time major champion has not tasted Grand Slam success since triumphing at Wimbledon in 2012, and said he would be overjoyed to add an 18th to his tally in his twilight of his career.
"It would mean a lot to me, no doubt about it," Federer told reporters after becoming the oldest player to reach the Australian Open semi-finals in 37 years.
"It's part of the reason why I'm still playing.
"I feel like I'm competitive at the top. I can beat all the guys on tour.
"It's nice now that in the last three Slams that I've been as consistent as I have been.
"So I'm very pleased."
The fifth-seeded Czech has troubled Federer at times over his trophy-laden career, losing five of their previous 21 meetings -- two of them at the All-England Club in 2010 and Flushing Meadows in 2012.
But the 30-year-old, a semi-finalist at the Open the past two years, could not upend Federer for a third victory on the Grand Slam stage on Tuesday.
"I'm very, very happy. Tomas has caused me a lot of problems over the years," Federer said court-side.
"He's one of the guys who makes you a better player. He's beaten me around the world on the biggest courts.
"I played a great match. I was aggressive, had some variety in there and I'm very happy I was able to play like that."
Berdych broke in the first game of the match, but Federer responded to force a breaker. He knuckled down in the second set, winning big points to race two sets up.
Again, Berdych broke in the first game of the set. But couldn't maintain the rage, dropping another two service games as Federer tightened the screws to win in straight sets.
