Defending champion Stan Wawrinka and tournament top seed Novak Djokovic will collide in the semifinals of the 2015 Australian Open on Friday morning at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

Wawrinka and Djokovic will face each other in a crucial match for the third consecutive year. The top-seeded Serb has won in 16 of their last 19 meetings, but their last two Australian Open matches were both thrilling encounters.

Djokovic defeated Wawrinka in an epic five-setter in the fourth round of the 2013 Australian Open, where the final tiebreaker ended up 12-10. The top-seeded Serb ended up winning the tournament that year for his fourth Australian Open title.

Wawrinka avenged that painful defeat last year when he defeated Djokovic in the quarterfinals in another classic five-set showdown, in which the Swiss tennis star escaped with a 9-7 win in the final tiebreaker. Wawrinka also went on to win the title, which was the first Grand Slam title of his career.

Djokovic, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, is expecting another tough battle against Wawrinka on Friday, but the 27-year-old said that he is confident heading into the match after performing well in his win against eighth seed Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals.

"We played five-set matches in 2013 and '14 Australian Open. I'm going to be ready for a fight," Djokovic said. "But knowing that I have raised the level of performance [on Wednesday], and probably playing the best match of the tournament so far is affecting my confidence in a positive way."

Wawrinka, who scored a straight-set win against fifth seed Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals, knows that he needs to be at his best on Friday, but the 29-year-old is convinced that he has a good chance against Djokovic based on his performance in his first five matches in the tournament.

Wawrinka also added that he is not feeling any pressure despite being tagged as the man-to-beat after winning the title last year.

"I don't feel pressure by defending the title because I don't come here to defend it," Wawrinka said. "I come here as a new challenge, a new Grand Slam. That's how I start the tournament. I'm really happy to be already in the semifinal, to play that well so far."

The Djokovic-Wawrinka semis match is scheduled to start around 3:30 a.m. EST, Friday.

Complete Day 12 schedule of the 2015 Australian Open can be seen here. Matches will be shown live on ESPN2 and through online live stream via WatchESPN and Australian Open Live.

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