AUSTRALIAN OPEN – Serbian Novak Djokovic (36) defeated the American Taylor Fritz (26) 7:6, 4:6, 6:2, 6:3 in sun-baked Melbourne, won his ninth duel and advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open for the eleventh time in his career . From this stage of the tournament, the 24-time Grand Slam champion always made it to triumph, this year he will play for the final with the Italian Jannik Sinner or the Russian Andrey Rublyov (26).
Djokovic – Fritz 7:6, 4:6, 6:2, 6:3
Novak Djokovic played in the finals at all four Grand Slams last year, winning three of them, and is again the biggest favorite at the Australian Open. If he can confirm this role and get his 25th Grand Slam laurel, he will become independent in the historical charts in the first place, which he currently shares with Margaret Court.
This year in Melbourne, he started his fifth appearance by winning the opening set, but lost the second set for the third time. In a record 58th Grand Slam quarterfinal, he lost it to world number 12 Taylor Fritz, before using only his 16th break point overall to break his opponent’s resistance.
Through to an 11th #AusOpen Semi-Final. We’ll let you run the numbers, but the 10x champion’s strike rate from here is pretty good!@djokernole proves too strong for a gallant Taylor Fritz 7-6(3) 4-6 6-2 6-3@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/Abr5xArz0p
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2024
He finally beat the American, ten years younger, after almost four hours of play, 7:6, 4:6, 6:2, 6:3, when he recorded 52 winning strokes and only half of unforced errors. He also won the ninth match between them, losing only three sets in them and all of them at the Australian Open.
“I suffered a lot in the first two sets because Taylor was playing great. It was physically and mentally exhausting.” Djokovic said in a post-match on-court interview with Nick Kyrgios.
Statistics of the match Novak Djokovic – Taylor Fritz (@ Livesport)
Djokovic, who became the first man in the Open era to play at least 100 matches at all four Grand Slams, improved his record at the Australian Open to 94-8. He suffered his last defeat at Melbourne Park in 2018 in the round of 16 against Hyeon Chung, since then he has won all 33 matches and equaled Monika Selešová’s record streak.
By advancing to the 48th Grand Slam semi-final, he once again pushed his own record, in Melbourne he is among the top four for the eleventh time out of 19 starts. After advancing from the quarterfinals to the Australian Open, he has never lost and has a superb record of 20-0.
The Australian Open is his most successful Grand Slam in terms of the number of triumphs, this year he is already attacking for the fifth title in a row. At the same time, he dominated 2021 with a torn abdominal muscle and was not stopped by a hamstring injury last year. Even this year, he did not arrive at the season’s opening major in optimal condition, suffering from a cold and problems with his right wrist.
Twenty-six-year-old Fritz knocked out last year’s finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas two days ago, on the 12th attempt he claimed the scalp of a member of the TOP 10 at the Grand Slams and played in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open for the first time. However, he was unable to surpass his Grand Slam maximum from Wimbledon 2022 (loss with Rafael Nadal) and US Open 2023 (with Djokovic).
Djokovic will play Jannik Sinner or Andrei Rublev for the 37th Grand Slam final. “It will be difficult because both players are in great form,” said the Serb.
Sinner – Rubljov (12:45)
Australian Open men’s singles results
Article originally published for Livesport News.
2024-01-23 11:18:40
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