She was into her fourth Australian Open final in a row and had been imperious until now, with tears in her eyes at the end.

The fourth seeds, in only their seventh event together, were too good for the seventh-seeded Kazakh and Serbian pair on Rod Laver Arena, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

With age and injuries catching up with Djokovic, Sunday may represent the Serb's best chance of seizing that elusive 25th major, although his gritty display against Sinner shows he still has plenty left in the tank.