Novak Djokovic warned Jannik Sinner their blockbuster French Open semi-final showdown is the type of occasion that will "extract the best out of me".
The 24-time major winner goes head-to-head with the world number one in what promises to be an epic clash at Roland-Garros on Friday.
Sinner arrives in the contest protecting a 19-match winning streak at grand slam events, and is yet to drop a set this fortnight as he targets a third successive major title.
The Italian has also won each of his last three meetings with Djokovic, most recently a straight-sets victory in last year's Shanghai showpiece.
However, the Serbian has demonstrated he is getting back to his best in recent times. After ending his ATP title drought in Geneva last time out - his 100th title on the Tour -Â he brilliantly recovered from losing the opening set to soar past Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic is set to appear in his 51st major semi-final, while bidding to remain on course for that record-breaking 25th slam, and he is relishing his showdown with Sinner.
"I know what to expect from Jannik,"Â he said. "He's going to come out and play at a very high level, as he did basically every tournament that he played in the last year-and-a-half. I don't expect anything less from him.
"But these kinds of match-ups and challenges extract the best out of me. Playing best-of-five [sets], [in the] late stages of a grand slam against the number one in the world, you can't get more motivated than that for me at this age.
"That's how I see it now. How am I going to stop him? I don't think about that. I think about how I am going to execute what I want on the court, and feel how I want to feel. That's where my thoughts are going."
