Australian Open Order of Play, Day 12 - Women's doubles final; Djokovic v Pouille

Lucas Pouille finds himself in unfamiliar territory when he takes on Novak Djokovic in the second men's semi-final at Melbourne Park on Friday.

Djokovic enters the contest as the overwhelming favourite, especially given his quarter-final opponent Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with a leg injury after 52 minutes.

It means the Serbian has now won 11 matches at a major tournament as a result of retirement - more than any player in the history of the sport. Pouille, on the other hand, has spent a total of four hours and 31 minutes more out on the court this past fortnight.

The Frenchman knows that Djokovic has gone on to lift the trophy in each of his previous six appearances in the semi-finals here, but having arrived in Australia without a win to his name in this tournament, the 24-year-old will hope his aggressive style keeps the dream alive.

Having toppled number one seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai will be confident of now finishing off the job with the backing of the home crowd.

The pair have shown a gritty determination not to be defeated having come back from a break down in each set to defeat the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champions in the last eight. Given the story of Ashleigh Barty reaching the women’s singles quarter-final, Stosur’s progress alongside Zhang has got a little under the radar.

The 2011 US Open champion reached her last doubles final here in 2006 at the age of just 21, which sparked an 18-match winning run alongside Lisa Raymond. Stosur is back where it all began for her, but she will have her work cut out against the reigning champions Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic.

The pair have dominated the women's doubles scene over the past few years, also winning the WTA Doubles Championship last October.

Not before 0500 GMT

Women's doubles final

Samantha Stosur (Australia)/Zhang Shuai (China) v 2-Timea Babos (Hungary)/Kristina Mladenovic (France)

Not before 0830 GMT

Men's singles semi-finals

1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) v 28-Lucas Pouille (France)