As the Australian Open nears its conclusion, with the semi-final line-ups in both the men's and women's competitions now decided, both of the number one seeds have safely negotiated their way through to the last-four places. Four-time champion in Melbourne Novak Djokovic continued his imperious form to defeat the Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic in straight sets, in a little under two hours of play.
The hard-serving Raonic stands 6'5" tall, but even with that stature could not respond as the Serbian moved through the gears to take control of the match.
Last year's Wimbledon semi-finalist will have to wait until the next Slam now, before he can look to match or better that performance, despite a spirited effort against the seven-time Grand Slam title holder.
There was little to separate the two players in a tight first set, which was decided on a tie-break in the top seed's favour, but thereafter he stepped up his game as he picked apart his heavy-serving opponent. The second set followed 6-4 and as his game clicked up yet another notch, it was not long before the third set was decided at 6-2 as well.
The 27-year-old Djokovic moved ominously into his twenty-fifth semi-final at a Grand Slam with the win, and the only surprising element of that statistic seems to be that he hasn't taken the title itself in more of them, such has been the standard in an age when the likes of Federer, Nadal and Murray (among others) have stood in his path.
However, it is with last year's champion that he resumes battle in the last-four, with Stan Wawrinka also qualifying earlier today following victory over Japan's Kei Nishikori in three sets.
It will be the third time in a row that they have met at the event, with the honours even over that time. However, the reigning champion will need to break Djokovic's enviable record of winning the title Down Under every time he has reached this stage in the competition, if he is to progress further.
The men's semi-finals are confirmed as:
Novak Djokovic v Stan Wawrinka
Andy Murray v Tomas Berdych.