No shortage of form here! Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev to duel in Dubai

WATCH: Novak Djokovic defeats Hubert Hurkacz in the 2023 Dubai quarterfinals

Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev will renew their rivalry on Friday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, in a clash that has all the makings of a blockbuster based on their form coming in.

"Daniil is one of the best players in the world the last five years. Grand Slam winner. Former No. 1 in the world. Not much to talk about," Djokovic told press. "His quality is as tough as it gets when you are supposed to face someone on the hard court particularly."

The world No. 1 reached the semifinals first on Thursday, defeating No. 5 seed Hubert Hurkacz, 6-3, 7-5, to increase his perfect 2023 start to 15-0. After being pushed to a final-set tiebreaker in his opener by 130th-ranked Tomas Machac, Djokovic has hit his stride.

"It's true that it does take a match or two to get into the flow, I would say, go back to the desired level of movement, balance, coordination, stuff like this," he said. "Luckily for me, already second match, I'm feeling as close to best that I could possibly feel. Of course, you can always be better. I'm playing on a high level and I'm happy with tennis."

Against Hurkacz, the five-time champion did not face a break point thanks to a 79 percent success rate on his second serve. After holding from 15-30 at 4-5 in the second set, Djokovic broke Hurkacz with a backhand bullet up the line to end a tense 14-point game, and subsequently shut the door at love to remain undefeated in five meetings with the Pole.

Djokovic has now produced a win streak of at least 20 matches for the 10th time in his career. He opened his year with the Adelaide crown—a run that included a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Medvedev—before tying Rafael Nadal with a men’s record 22nd major crown at the Australian Open.

Later, Medvedev rolled over Borna Coric, 6-3, 6-2, reeling off the final 21 points of the contest after going down an initial break in the second set to post his 12th consecutive win. The third seed arrived in Dubai on the back of clinching the Rotterdam title indoors and following it up with a triumph outdoors in Doha. He has won 11 successive sets.

Djokovic has opened a 9-4 advantage in the pair’s head-to-head series after sweeping four straight encounters. Medvedev’s last win was as big as they come, when he denied the Belgrade native a calendar-year Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open to lift his maiden major trophy.