Wawrinka made to look like a harpooned whale at the net as Djokovic wrong-foots the Swiss with an improved lob. The defending champion gives his opponent a thumbs up. Sporting.

Djokovic soon finds himself 3-0 up as Wawrinka mistimes an ugly-looking backhand, scooping it wide. The Serb commanding and an overhit backhand down the line from Wawrinka gifts Djokovic a 5-0 lead.

Wawrinka managing to serve with aplomb despite the chokingly-tense atmosphere. He gathers four points easily, and quickly, and it's time to settle this on a tie-break.

Iain Smith:, external I would prefer Andy Murray faced Stan in the final, as long as this goes to 12-10 in the fifth. Stan isn't as athletic as Nole. AM would prefer him.

Image source, EPA

Razor sharp from the Serb who does the basics well, keeping the points short and sweet and closes with a Becker-eque serve and volley.

Leon Smith
GB Davis Cup captain

"Those two aces will feel good for Wawrinka. He has not had many good first serves in this set so hopefully he will gain some confidence in his serve."

Image source, BBC Sport

Age is just a number, so they say. Should Stan Wawrinka - at the grand old age of 29 years and 310 days - reach the final he will become the oldest man to do so since Andre Agassi in 2003, when the American was 32 and 272 days. Creaking bones and a muddled mind won't be a problem for Wawrinka for quite some time.

But the Wawrinka backhand is faltering as two errors on that side present Djokovic with two set points. Canny from the Swiss, launching an unreturnable sliced serve out wide. One more break point to save - and he does it, Djokovic screwing a forehand into the tramlines. Deuce. Ace. Another ace! And that's two set points saved and a hold.

Image source, EPA

Djokovic has regained his composure and replaced his racquet after a minor meltdown after Wawrinka had broken him. The Serb's serve smooth, and he's performing like a well-oiled machine once again. Wawrinka - watched by his fans - not as fleet on foot as he would perhaps like on the baseline, ballooning a forehand to allow Djokovic to hold to 15 without much fuss.

Leon Smith
GB Davis Cup captain

"Neither player has settled and both made errors, so it was no surprise to see Stan give the serve straight back to Djokovic."

Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Melbourne Park

"Djokovic took the frustration of dropping serve out on his racquet with a sneaky racquet smash, while sitting down. Two swipes, clinical."

Wawrinka allows two easy points to slip through his fingers. Djokovic gathers momentum and a 0-30 lead. A dip in form from both players. The pair trade blows from the baseline, the spectators are unable to contain their excitement, one nervy groundstroke after another until Wawrinka nets on his forehand. Three break points to the Serb and the Swiss crumbles, going long on his forehand when he had time on his side.

Leon Smith
GB Davis Cup captain

"Although he has been playing well, Djokovic seems a bit more on edge than normal. He is normally much more focused and relaxed, but he seems a bit uptight. He is making more unforced errors than he would do normally, and I wonder if that's because he is fearful of Wawrinka's power."

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At 15-30, Wawrinka has an opportunity to turn the screw and heap some pressure on Djokovic. The Serb usually come through in adversity, but will he here? From tramline to tramline they go, Wawrinka's backhand is made of steel... Djokovic falters, presenting Wawrinka with two break points. Whoa! And just like an unexpected twist in a page-turning thriller, out of nowhere Wawrinka takes his opportunity and breaks.

Former British female number one Anne Keothavong on Twitter:, external Congratulations to British player Katie Swan for making it through to the Australian Open junior girls final. Go for it.

Cripes, the asterisk key on my keyboard has never been tapped with such frequency. Stan Wawrinka with an expletive-laden rant during the changeover, swearing at the umpire. "What's going on?" asks the Swiss (some words taken out for obvious reasons). Not entirely sure what the problem is, but perhaps that will become clearer as the match unfolds.

Wawrinka using the red mist to good effect and we have first sight of that dreamy single-handed backhand of his as the defending champion ends a 15-shot rally to level at 30-30. The baseline battles are getting longer... bish, bash, bosh... Djokovic nets, Wawrinka creeps ahead. The Serb drags the game to deuce, but Wawrinka eventually pulls through. Onwards we go.

Leon Smith
GB Davis Cup captain

"I saw Kim Sears in the hotel this morning and she was not in the best of moods. These things blow over in a few days, but it has given everyone a good talking point.

"I'm sure people will empathise with how stressful it is to be a wife or girlfriend of an athlete. It's not easy, and she just got carried away in the moment."

Tim Collingwood:, external I'd actually prefer Djokovic for Murray out of the two. Djokovic can be controlled, to an extent, where as Wawrinka is all untamed.

The rallies are short, the serves are sweet. Neither player exerting too much energy to win their points. At 40-0 the crowd cheer as Djokovic nets, presenting Wawrinka with his first point of the game, but there's no sign, not the slightest whiff, of the Swiss upsetting Djokovic's rhythm, even with the crowd on his side. Djokovic opting to serve and volley on the next point and the outcome is clinical.

Wawrinka with a second serve... Djokovic, eyes widening, steps in for the kill but he puts a touch too much power on the return, which allows Wawrinka to nip ahead to 30-15. The Swiss serving crisply and there's even a trip to the net for a backhand volley which forces Djokovic to go long. The defending champion varying play intelligently.

Leon Smith
GB Davis Cup captain

"I spoke to Andy Murray today and he said he would not watch too much of the second semi-final. You can get too involved in it, but I think he will probably see a few snippets and Amelie Mauresmo will pick out a few things and study it in detail."

Image source, AFP

What a record Novak Djokovic has in the latter stages of the Grand Slams. Should he beat Wawrinka, he would contest his 15th Grand Slam final and move into equal eighth on the all-time list of most appearances in a major final. With such a record, it's little surprise the world number one has made a nerveless start. A mammoth serve to the wings concludes a confident hold to love. Wawrinka close to nicking a point just the once, but he biffed a crosscourt forehand a fraction wide when Djokovic was there for the beating.