World No.1 Novak Djokovic will shoot for a record third straight Australian Open title on Sunday night bursting with confidence and feeling physically and mentally fresh after his semi-final blitz of David Ferrer.
Djokovic described his performance as incredible after making the Spanish fourth seed look like a junior hitting partner, winning 6-2 6-2 6-1 in just 89 minutes on Thursday night.
As well as the confidence boost and minimal physical toll, he will have 24 hours extra to prepare for the final compared to the winner of Friday night's semi between Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who are expected to have a much more gruelling match.
Djokovic said he much preferred this lead-in to that for last year's final, when he had to survive a near-five hour five-setter against Murray in a Friday night semi-final before outlasting Rafael Nadal in an even longer tournament decider.
"I definitely prefer being fitter for the final and having a little bit more time than I had in 2012," Djokovic said.