Masters | ATP Finals | Semifinal: Novak Djokovic in the Masters final after a tough fight against Taylor Fritz

Novak Djokovic will play his eighth Masters final. This Saturday in Turin, the Serbian beat the American Taylor Fritz in the semifinals after a very tight match played twice in the tie-break (7-6, 7-6). Physically not at his best, the world number eight fought on every point and made the difference in the important moments. He will be looking for a sixth title in this tournament and become Roger Federer’s equal. For this he will have to face the winner of the other semifinal, who will oppose Casper Ruud to Andrey Rublev, in the evening at 21:00.

Djokovic was the first to score the break in this match. Leading 3-2 in the first set. But Fritz recovered his face off calmly. And the two men did not let go until the decisive match. Without having been particularly brilliant so far, the Serbian remained in the game making fewer unforced errors than his opponent. And he didn’t miss the opportunity in his very first set point, at 6-5. He then unleashed a huge forehand down the line that gave the American no chance.

Djokovic still decisive in hot moments

Unaffected by the loss in the first set, Fritz immediately improved his game by being more aggressive on every ball and committing far fewer fouls. Which allowed him to break through the second set. Both men made some excellent rallies and produced much better quality tennis. Djokovic has looked, at times, physically affected as in his match against Daniil Medvedev. He even seemed to have trouble recovering. But he never gave up.

Like at 5-3 and 0/30 in his face-off where he could have concentrated to focus on a third set that looked more than likely. But Djoker’s great strength this week is there. An inevitable resilience that allowed him to reverse the course of this set. Though transcended by this prospect of a sixth Masters crown, he has found his tennis to string together perfect shots.

Just as Fritz was starting to make some mistakes again. A new decisive game has become inevitable. And the Serbian finished the game on his second match point (7-6(5), 7-6(6)). Four years after the failure against Alexander Zverev, he is back in the final. For one last fight.