- By Jonathan Jurejko
- ` Sport at Melbourne Park
January 23, 2024, 09:40 GMT
Updated 43 minutes ago
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Djokovic defeated Fritz – and the Heat – to book his place in a record-breaking 48th Grand Slam men's singles semifinal
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Venue: Melbourne Park. Dates: 14th – 28th January |
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Coverage: Tennis Breakfast commentary daily from 07:00 GMT on Radio 5 Sports Extra and ` Sounds, with selected live text commentary and match reports on the ` Sport website and app |
Novak Djokovic continued his hunt for a record-breaking 11th Australian Open title with a commanding victory over 12th seed American Taylor Fritz.
The Serb, seeking his 25th Grand Slam to surpass Margaret Court's record of 24, won 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in hot conditions to reach the semi-finals.
He will play fourth-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner or fifth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev in Melbourne on Friday.
“I suffered a lot in the first few sets,” said 36-year-old top seed Djokovic.
“I said [to my team] that this game was not an enjoyable game for me at all.
“It was really difficult to find the right time. It was very hot while the sun was still shining.”
“We all know Taylor has one of the best serves in the world. I knew the danger he posed when he pitched at such a high level.”
Djokovic has won his last 33 singles matches at Melbourne Park and is a clear favorite to defend his title.
The quarter-final between Sinner and Rublev is not expected to end until the early hours of Wednesday morning local time after the night session was postponed until 9pm.
The singles matches at Rod Laver Arena didn't start until 1 p.m. Coco Gauff's win over Marta Kostyuk in the women's quarterfinals lasted more than three hours before Djokovic took almost four hours to defeat Fritz.
Djokovic remains focused on getting through
Djokovic refers to the Australian Open as his “second home”, such is his dominance over the years and this was another masterful performance as he defeated the latest younger challenger.
His last loss in Melbourne remains a fourth-round loss to South Korea's Chung Hyeon in 2018.
As play began in temperatures of 31C at around 5pm local time, Djokovic coolly earned eight break points in the opening set but grew increasingly nervous as he was unable to capitalize on any of them.
Djokovic – who appeared overheated, regularly used ice towels and shouted at his team – was almost punished when the 26-year-old Fritz scored two set points with a stunning forehand winner down the line at 6-5.
However, Djokovic regained his composure, saved it and set the stage for the jump to the tiebreak.
With the help of Fritz, who missed a simple volley to make it 1-0, Djokovic quickly asserted his authority and closed out the first set after an hour and 24 minutes.
Fritz, who had lost all eight of his previous meetings with Djokovic, reacted bravely.
A break of serve in the first game of the second set before fending off seven break points allowed Fritz to tie the game.
But a foot problem began to hamper him and Djokovic, looking strong as conditions cooled, broke twice to win the third set.
Djokovic was now in full control and under little pressure on his serve, and when he made it 4-2 in the fourth round, the game seemed to be heading towards an end.
Fritz recovered once again by breaking serve immediately, but Djokovic broke again before serving strongly.
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