Novak Djokovic has dismissed any concerns about his fitness ahead of his Australian Open semi-final against Andy Murray, even though he felt pain in his left hamstring during his straight-sets win over David Ferrer on Wednesday night.
Coming off a fourth-round win over local veteran Lleyton Hewitt in which he dropped his first set of the tournament, the defending champion knew he wouldn't have it any easier taking on Spanish world No.5 David Ferrer.
Having claimed the first set courtesy of the only break of serve, Djokovic was well placed when he broke for a second time early in the second but then in the fourth game he stretched for a shot and finished the point clutching at his leg muscle.
He then stayed down on his haunches for several seconds grimacing in pain but the scare was short-lived as the pain didn't linger and he was able to not only eventually take the set in a tie-breaker but then race away with the third set in 30 minutes to take the match 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.
And having failed to directly answer a question about the incident on court after his win, Djokovic was adamant when he spoke to reporters after the win in two hours and 44 minutes that he goes into the clash with Murray with a clean bill of health.
"Well, luckily for me it wasn't something that stayed there for (a) long time," said Djokovic, who also battled a problem with his breathing during the match against Ferrer.
"It was just a sudden pain but, look, you could expect before coming to this match that it's going to be very physical (because) David makes you run, makes you play an extra shot, makes you earn your points."
"I don't have any physical issues, I feel very fit and I feel mentally, as well, very fresh."
Expanding on the issue with his breathing, Djokovic added: "It's just today I found it very difficult after a long time to breathe because I felt the whole day my nose was closed a little bit."
"I just wasn't able to get enough oxygen."
"But look, in these conditions, at this stage of the tournament, when you're playing somebody like David, somebody that has great shots from both sides from the baseline, makes you always play over five to ten shots in the rally, your physical strength and endurance comes into question."
"I think actually I'm not concerned about that at all."
"I'm really fit and I have no concerns of recovering for the next match."
"It's just a matter of breathing better through the nose."
From that point the majority of Djokovic's post-match conference centred on his upcoming clash with Murray on Friday night, an opponent who he has been friends with since they were both about 12.
Djokovic boasts a 6-4 win-loss record against Murray and while he lost their most recent encounter last year in Cincinnati, he triumphed in straight sets in their only Grand Slam meeting, last year's final at Melbourne Park that triggered his run of three major wins for the season.
"Well, it's a new year (and) new challenges for all of us," Djokovic said.
"He's got (coach) Ivan Lendl now on his side, he's made some changes."
"But he looks fit, he's been playing well (and) he's definitely I think very motivated to win his first Grand Slam."
"He's been proving to