Russian third seed Medvedev's rivalry with Zverev was the focus of an entire episode in Netflix's recently released Break Point documentary series - and their on-court reunion promises to be fiercely contested with a place in the Australian Open final on the line.

World number six Zverev criticised Medvedev's behaviour following the Russian's dramatic comeback win from two match points down in Monte Carlo last year, labelling his opponent "one of the most unfair players in the world" after he ran off court for a toilet break during a change of ends in the deciding set.

The German, 26, earned his biggest win at a Slam with an impressive four-set win over world number two Carlos Alcaraz in the last eight to reach his second major semi-final since suffering a nasty ankle injury at the 2022 French Open - and first in Melbourne since 2020.

That run has been achieved during a fortnight in which it was announced Zverev will face a trial over domestic abuse allegations in May, having been accused of physically abusing his ex-girlfriend - charges he denies.

The rivalry with Medvedev, 27, has not been a happy one for Zverev in recent years. Former US Open champion Medvedev, who came through in five sets against ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz, has won 10 of the last 12 meetings, including five of six in 2023, and leads the head-to-head 11-7.

"A lot of matches [against Medvedev] were extremely close. It came down to him being extremely confident last year, playing some of the best tennis of his life, and me coming back from injury and not having the confidence in deciding moments," Zverev said.

"He's obviously extremely difficult to play. No question about it. He's one of the best players in the world right now. I'm extremely happy to be back where I am and winning these kind of matches, giving myself the chance again."

Also on Friday, Britain's Neal Skupski and American team-mate Desirae Krawczyk contest the mixed doubles final against Poland's Jan Zielinski and Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei.

Top seeds Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid will aim to reach the final of the men's wheelchair doubles when they play Japanese duo Daisuke Arai and Takashi Sanada.

Fellow Briton Andy Lapthorne and American team-mate David Wagner are in quad wheelchair doubles semi-final action against Australian Heath Davidson and Canada's Robert Shaw.