Daniil Medevev won the last 21 points in his 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Borna Coric to set up a semi-final showdown in Dubai with top seed Novak Djokovic.
One of the two longest win streaks this season on the ATP will come to an end when the pair face off at the Aviation Club.
Medvedev has won his last 12 matches while Djokovic defeated Pole Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 7-5 in their quarter-final to run his 2023 record to 15-0.
The world No. 1 stands 9-4 in the series; the Serb owns titles this season at Adelaide and Melbourne while Medvedev is aiming for his third in a row after winning Rotterdam and Doha over the last two weeks.
Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, was pleased to have rallied form 0-2 down in the second set against Coric after winning the first.
“I managed to hit some lines and Borna was missing a bit,” the winner said. “I’m happy with the ending of the match for sure.
“We had some very long rallies, it was ‘let’s see who misses first,’ a matter of margins.
“I hit some shots better. It was not super-easy to win but I’m happy to have done it.”
Djokovic is prepared for a Friday night battle against Medvedev.
“His quality is as tough as it gets on the hard court particularly. He likes to go very quickly through his service games.
“We’ve played each other quite a few times, so I know what to expect. . He’s on the roll, winning tournaments, one or more tournaments before Dubai.
“I haven’t had a bad run myself, so I think we’re both in great form and hopefully can have a good match.”
Medvedev voiced similar sentiments: “I’m playing good now but he is always the favourite. You would never say he is 35.
“We’ve always had good fights, I’m hoping to be in my best shape tomorrow, that’s the only way to beat him.”
