Melbourne set for new champion

Jannik Sinner has sprinted past opponents at the Australian Open in his quest for a maiden Grand Slam but could end up running a marathon in the final against Daniil Medvedev on Sunday, when Melbourne Park will crown a new king.

Sinner made sure that this becomes the first final since 2005 sans the 'big three' of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal when he dismantled reigning champion Djokovic in the semifinals to end the world number one's bid for a record 25th major.

It was the Italian's third victory in four matches against Djokovic since November, confirming a red-hot run of form that, Sinner says, has primed him for his first run to the business end of a major.

Sinner's game has moved to another level since he began working with Darren Cahill, who believes the fourth seed has all the weapons to land one of the game's four big prizes.

"He's got the qualities I believe that a lot of the great champions in the game have, but you've got to start winning to let that come to fruition," the Australian coach said.

Belief and a rich vein of form might, however, count for nothing against the incredible will power of Russian Medvedev, who has twice battled back from the brink of defeat to make his third Australian Open final.

While Sinner has spent a little more than 14 hours on court, his third-seeded opponent has battled for more than 20 thanks in large part to his five-set wins over Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round and Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.

On both occasions he rallied from two sets down and, although he said he may feel "destroyed" physically, Medvedev will be determined to finally raise the trophy after losing to Djokovic in 2021 and a five-set heartbreaker to Nadal in 2022.

"I'm stronger than I was before this tournament because now I know that I'm capable of some things maybe I thought I'm not. Because before I didn't do anything like this to get to the final," the 27-year-old said.

"It's better to be in the final winning three-set, four-set matches. That's the better way physically. But it is what it is. I'm proud and looking forward to the final to give 100% again."