First set: Djokovic* 1-0 Pouille (*denotes server): Novak Djokovic, who’s won his last 27 grand slam matches against Frenchmen, opens the serving. He wins the first point – but Lucas Pouille is keen to assert himself straight away, making it 15-all with a precise forehand, then moving to 15-30 with a deft volley. This is good attacking play from the underdog. The game goes to deuce, Djokovic finding himself under surprise early pressure. Yet the world No1 digs in to hold serve.
Lucas Pouille is coached by Amelie Mauresmo, Andy Murray’s old coach. Here’s what he has to say about her.
Lucas Pouille on Amélie Mauresmo’s coaching and the next generation – video
These two have never met before. So there you go. If Lucas Pouille wins he will be the first Frenchman to reach a grand slam final since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the final of this tournament in 2008 – and lost to Novak Djokovic, who collected the first of his 14 majors with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 win.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Novak Djokovic’s training session ahead of the Australian Open final. His hitting partner today is Lucas Pouille, a lucky 24-year-old Frenchman, and … no, this is too harsh. Too presumptuous, even. This is sport, after all, and it pays to expect the unexpected. Anything can happen, even extraordinary things, even though it seems inevitable that Pouille is set to go the same way as the unfortunate Stefanos Tsitsipas, who suffered badly at the hands of Rafael Nadal in yesterday’s semi-final. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves: nothing’s written in stone yet.
That’s what Pouille has to keep in mind as he steels himself for his first ever major semi-final. Everybody knows the 29th seed is a rank outsider, that realistically he stands little chance of toppling Djokovic, the world No1 and the champion here on six occasions. The likeliest scenario is a comfortable Djokovic win, probably in straight sets, leaving him nice and fresh for another epic battle with Nadal on Sunday. The awesome Serb is in good nick after an easy quarter-final against Kei Nishikori and remains the man to beat as he bids for a third consecutive grand slam title. Yet Pouille is an elegant player who can draw on the memory of beating Nadal at the US Open in 2016. He impressed in his quarter-final against Milos Raonic and has the talent to ensure this isn’t a one-off. Yet whether he has enough to deal with a genius like Djokovic is another matter altogether – and it’s difficult not to think we already know the answer to that question.
Play begins at 8.30am GMT and 7.30pm in Melbourne.
Updated