Novak Djokovic outlasts Taylor Fritz to reach 11th Australian Open semi-final

MELBOURNE – Novak Djokovic was hot, bothered and exhausted, as he claimed after his Australian Open quarter-final victory on Rod Laver Arena on Jan 23.

But he is Djokovic after all, and the signs are that nothing – and nobody – will be able to stop him as he stayed on track for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

The Serbian world No. 1 struggled with the conditions early in the contest against Taylor Fritz, but defied the fierce Melbourne heat and a battling performance from his American opponent to prevail 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. He will next take on Italian Jannik Sinner for a place in the final on Jan 28.

Sinner saw off Russian Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 on Jan 23.

“It was extremely hot when the sun was still out there. Physically and emotionally very draining. But huge round of applause to Fritz for a great performance today,” Djokovic said after the match, which stretched to 3hr 45min.

“My conversion of the break points was really poor, but I think at the end of the day I managed to break him when it really mattered, in the third and the fourth sets.

“I think I upped my game probably midway through the third set, all the way to the end.”

The win was Djokovic’s 33rd consecutive victory in Melbourne, a startling run stretching back to 2018. He did not compete at the event in 2022 due to his Covid-19 vaccination status.

The 36-year-old came into the match boasting a perfect 8-0 record against the American 12th seed.

And it was business as usual as the Serb – more used to playing cooler night matches in Melbourne – edged out a gruelling first set that lasted 84 minutes.

Fritz, 26, had two set points on Djokovic’s serve in the 12th game, but the 10-time champion snuffed them out and dominated the subsequent tiebreak to take control.

The top seed left the court after the first set and when he returned he suffered the first break of the match. Fritz, who survived eight break points in the opening set, fought off seven more points during the second to pull level.

Djokovic finally won a break point at his 16th attempt to wrest control of the third set and broke again to leave himself one set away from victory.

He broke for the third time in the sixth game of the fourth set when Fritz tamely dumped a forehand into the net.

A lucky net cord helped the American break back to stay alive, but he doubled-faulted in the following game to hand the initiative back to Djokovic, who made no mistake this time.

Victory leaves the Serb just two wins from standing alone as the only player in history – male or female – to have collected 25 Grand Slam singles titles.

Djokovic, who has never failed to win the Australian Open once he has reached the semi-finals, is level with Margaret Court on 24 Majors.

But he is already out on his own in men’s tennis – two clear of the injured Rafael Nadal, who is set to return during the Qatar Open in February and four ahead of the retired Roger Federer.

In the women’s quarter-finals, Aryna Sabalenka overpowered Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-3 in a brutally swift clash to keep her title defence firmly on course and set up a showdown with US Open champion Coco Gauff.

“It was a great match today, I played great tennis,” said the Belarusian world No. 2.

“I hope that I can keep playing that way or even better. I’ve been working so hard last year and in pre-season. It’s all about hard work, giving it all on the practice court so you’re ready for a match as best as you can be.”

Gauff outlasted unseeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 after more than three scrappy hours. AFP, REUTERS