However Andy Murray prepares to face Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open here on Friday night, the one thing he won't be doing is thinking about what happened 12 months ago.

His straight-sets defeat by the Serb in the final at Melbourne Park last year was a bitter disappointment to the Scot, all the hard work he had done in the off-season proving in vain as he was unable to produce his very best when it mattered most.

It was a loss that took him a good few months to shake off but with the help of Ivan Lendl, who is only in his first few weeks as Murray's new coach, the Scot believes he is more experienced and ready to deal with what will come at him.

"You obviously want to move on from what's happened in the past but you also need to learn from it," said Murray yesterday, after brushing aside Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in the quarter-finals. "You need to learn from the experience, take the positives and some of the negatives out of it to try and improve as a player.

"But I won't be going into the match thinking about last year's final. I just need to concentrate on the match ahead with the right tactics and focus fully on that, not on what's happened before."

Murray was one of the few men to beat Djokovic in 2011, when the Serb retired hurt in Cincinnati, already a set down. He had also pushed him to a final-set tie-break in Rome on clay a few months beforehand.

On the big day in Melbourne, though, he could not blunt the Serb's relentless march towards the first of three grand slam titles in 2011.

But having grown up with Djokovic and matched him almost stride for stride on their road to the top, Murray likes the match-up and believes he can beat him again.

"I've always liked playing against him," he said. "After the year that he had, the loss [in Melbourne] didn't look so bad six months later. But I'd like to get the chance to play him again. It would be a good marker to see how I've improved since last year."

The consensus here is that playing Djokovic in the semi-final gives Murray a better chance than if they had met in the final; less pressure and less expectation to weigh him down.

Getting over the line in a grand slam event is why Murray hired Lendl as his coach and though their partnership will take time to fully blossom, Lendl can help Murray stay calm in the build-up to the biggest matches.

"The reason for employing him was to give me an extra edge, a bit more experience," Murray said. "But I don't think this week is going to be where I see that difference, it will be down the line."

So it will be down to Murray to figure out how to get the better of a player who in 2011 went unbeaten up to the semi-finals of the French Open and then added the Wimbledon and US Open titles for good measure.

"It is always down to the player," Murray said. "It doesn't matter what anybody says to you on the court. The coach is there to help you mature and understand certain situations and, for me, [it's] pacing my way through grand slams and dealing with the pressure that comes at the end of grand slams."

Murray had a straightforward time of things against Nishikori, who looked exhausted after coming through two five-setters to reach the last eight. The world No.4 cruised to victory in just over two hours so when Djokovic was breathing heavily, clutching his left hamstring and generally looking uncomfortable against David Ferrer, the Scot will have felt pretty good about things. But in a match that included some breathtaking, rallies, Djokovic held firm to clinch a 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 victory, before dispelling any doubts over his health or fitness.

"I don't have any physical issues," he said. "I feel really fit and mentally fresh. It's just today I found it very difficult after a long time to breathe because I felt the whole day my nose was closed a little bit. I just wasn't able to get enough oxygen.

"I'm not concerned about that at all. I'm really fit and I have no concerns of recovering for the next match. It's just a matter of breathing better through my nose."

Having spent most of the fortnight practising off-site in a bid to stay relaxed, Murray was due to change his routine today, taking the chance to get some more court-time on Rod Laver Arena, where he will play Djokovic.

He will also surely keep a close eye on the first semi-final, which was due to be played this morning, UK time, between world No.2 Rafael Nadal and No.3 Roger Federer.

It is the first time since 2005 that the two men have met before the final at a grand slam event and the Spaniard leads their grand-slam meetings 7-2. Five of those were on clay but Nadal also won at Wimbledon in 2008 and here in 2009.

However, Federer said yesterday he believed he was in the form to add to his record 16 grand slam titles.

"I think it's the right time for me," he said. "I have not lost since the US Open [in the semi-finals to Djokovic] and I have been playing very well. The win I had [over Nadal] in London [at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals] gives me confidence."

There was disappointment last night for Colin Fleming, though, when he and Liezel Huber were beaten 7-6, 6-2 by India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza in the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles.