It will be the earliest meeting between the two since their first professional match in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray was locked in a fifth-set fight to the finish against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the third round of the French Open on Saturday when play was suspended because of bad light.
The threadbare state of American men's tennis surfaced again on Monday when John Isner lost to Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round of the US Open to make it the worst home showing in the professional era.
Rafael Nadal is the overwhelming favourite to win Friday semi-final and advance to his first final at Melbourne Park but Fernando Verdasco presents some unusual problems for him.
Images from Day 6 of the French Open in Paris on Friday.
Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro put himself back in contention at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday, beating Spain's Fernando Verdasco 6-4 3-6 7-6 in front of another near sell-out crowd at London's O2 Arena.
Top seed Andy Murray cruised into the St Petersburg Open final with a 6-0, 6-3 thrashing of Spaniard Fernando Verdasco on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Johanna Konta progressed to the Italian Open semi-finals on Friday, but Roger Federer and Naomi Osaka were forced to withdraw with injury problems. World number one Osaka pulled out of her quarter-final meeting with Kiki Bertens due to a thumb injury before 37-year-old Federer announced his withdrawal because of a problem to his right leg.
Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic upset Spain's Fernando Verdasco 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to claim the men's singles title at the inaugural Brisbane International.
Zverev's brother Mischa Zverev was also eliminated, going out 6-3, 6-1 to David Ferrer in the first round, while Kei Nishikori eased to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Taylor Fritz to secure a place in the third round.
Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka won a battle of former girls' champions at the Australian Open by easing past Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Big Croatian Mario Ancic dispatched ninth seed Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Queen's Club ATP tournament.
From Rafael Nadal's shock exit in the first round to Novak Djokovic's clinical run. We bring you the highs and lows as the Australian Open moves into its business end.
Croatian Ivo Karlovic won the Nottingham Open for the second successive year, beating Spain's Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-7, 7-6.
The instant surge of ecstasy Rafa Nadal felt after his epic Australian Open semi-final against Fernando Verdasco in the early hours of Saturday did not last long. The world number one was all smiles as he threw his arms around his fellow Spaniard after beating Verdasco 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 in the longest match ever played at the Australian Open.
Unseeded Australian Daria Gavrilova upset fifth seed Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the China Open on Saturday as Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic showed stunning powers of recovery to pull off her own shock win over sixth seed Elina Svitolina.
World number one Serena Williams opened her US Open account with a tidy 6-3, 6-3 win over Ekaterina Makarova on Tuesday, to join her sister Venus in the second round of the year's final Grand Slam.
Novak Djokovic began his bid to hold on to his number one ranking with an easy win over Gilles Muller in the Paris Masters second round while Andy Murray struggled through and Stan Wawrinka faltered on Wednesday.
Britain's grass season claimed its first ATP tour victims when seeds Julien Benneteau, Lee Hyung-Taik and Fernando Verdasco fell.
Richard Gasquet kept his ATP World Tour finals hopes alive when he overcame Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-3 to reach the Paris Masters third round as fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga crashed out of the race on Tuesday.
Andy Murray beat Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the St Petersburg Open to win his second title of the year.
The French Open champion beat Fernando Verdasco 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 in three hours.
So it is over. Two weeks of intriguing tennis where the world's best competed for the year's first Grand Slam. While the match-fixing report cast a shadow over the start of the Australian Open, the tournament gained momentum as it progressed. Rediff.com encapsulates the best moments from the Rod Laver Arena.
'I have been serving well, starting to create damage with the forehand. Hitting serve on one shot, I think'
The Indian Aces began their 2016 IPTL campaign with an easy 30-17 win over hosts Japan Warriors at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Thursday.
Rafael Nadal was reportedly happy to be on the dance floor, not on an actual one but on a tennis court, as the recovering Spaniard played in a new format called Fast4, which has been dubbed as disco tennis by some.
Year on year the players at the Wimbledon Championships brings to the courts its share of fans. Adding to the frenzy and excitement on court are the supporters with their eccentric dressing and fancy dos in the stands. Rediff.com gives you a quick glance through the action in the stands.
Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov upset top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada at the Brisbane International on Saturday to set up a title clash against Japan's Kei Nishikori.
Photos from the tennis matches played at Indian Wells on Tuesday
British tennis ace Andy Murray has said that former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has given him "gold dust" advice and have boosted his hopes to win the Wimbledon.
Spain secured their place in the Davis Cup's elite World Group when Rafael Nadal teamed up with Marc Lopez to beat Sergiy Stakhovsky and Denis Molchanov of Ukraine 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in their playoff on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic's frustration with the controversial blue clay at the Madrid Masters reached new heights after the world number one was beaten 7-6, 6-3 by fellow-Serb Janko Tipsarevic in the quarter-finals on Friday.
World No 2 Djokovic, who received a first-round bye, broke his opponent's serve four times to extend his winning run to 19 matches.
Top seed Rafa Nadal set up an all-Spanish final against David Ferrer at the Barcelona Open after blasting his way past compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-4 on Saturday.
Richard Gasquet maintained his unbeaten record to help guide France into the Hopman Cup final on Thursday before vowing to adopt a more attacking approach in a bid to shake up the established order in men's tennis.
Leander Paes's dream of winning ATP year-end finals remained unfulfilled as the veteran Indian crashed out of the prestigious event along with Czech partner Radek Stepanek after losing a must-win Group B match in London.
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek fought their way to the semi-finals of the ATP Miami Masters with a 7-6(6), 6-4 win over Spaniards David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco.
David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank trounced Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-2 6-3 to secure Argentina's first point of the Davis Cup final on Saturday and keep the best-of-five tie alive ahead of Sunday's reverse singles.
The 35-year-old's first match back in action last week at the Stuttgart Open was a flop when he suffered a shock loss to German veteran Tommy Haas, ranked 302 at the time, despite leading for a set and a half.
