New York (AFP) – Novak Djokovic sinks into the US Open table like butter: Taylor Fritz, with his too monolithic game, lost 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday in quarter-finals without ever threatening the Serb on his way to a record 47th Grand Slam semi-final.
Published on: 09/05/2023 – 23:33Modified on: 09/05/2023 – 23:31
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Among the women, Jelena Ostapenko (21st in the world) was unable to further her prestigious victory in the previous round against defending champion Iga Swiatek: the 26-year-old Latvian lost heavily against the American nugget Coco Gauff (6th) 6-0, 6-2.
Despite the heat on Tuesday – or perhaps because of it – Djokovic (36) did not stay very long (2h35) in the steam room of the Arthur-Ashe court, the roof of which had been half closed to promote the shadow on the ground.
“I cut my hair and it helped me, I was more aerodynamic”, he joked, before becoming serious again: “The conditions were very hot and humid, but it was the same for all the two. It is to resist that we train”.
Fritz, who battled five sets against Djokovic in their only previous Grand Slam encounter, in the 3rd round of the 2020 Australian Open as the Serb tore his abs, was never threatening on Tuesday.
Better than Federer
So much so that Djokovic, already guaranteed to become world No.1 again on Monday at the end of the American Major, has quietly become the sole record holder of 47 semi-finals played in the Grand Slam, now with a head start on Roger Federer. At Flushing Meadows, only Jimmy Connors did better (14).
The Serb’s next opponent, who is aiming for a 24th Grand Slam title to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record, will be known at the end of the night session. It will still be an American, Frances Tiafoe (10th in the world), semi-finalist last year, or Ben Shelton (47th).
“I’m going to enjoy watching them on television tonight, from my couch, with my physio, drinks and popcorn, legs in the air to recover, commented the Djoker. It’s going to be great to watch them and we’ll see what happens on Friday,” said the Djoker.
Novak Djokovic against Taylor Fritz, September 5, 2023 at Flushing Meadows © CLIVE BRUNSKILL / Getty/AFP
Among the women, Gauff was the first to climb into the last four. The darling of the public, she left no chance for Ostapenko, who explained that he had failed to recover from the match against Swiatek.
“It’s very difficult to recover from night matches: after beating the world No.1, I went to bed around 5:00 a.m. And even though I slept seven or eight hours, I didn’t fully recover . Yesterday (Monday, editor’s note) I spent the day without energy. I thought I would wake up today, but I didn’t really feel better”, she commented.
First for Gauff
Gauff was ruthless and completely stifled her opponent to reach her first semi-final in her national Major.
“It’s great, I’m so happy… Last year I lost in the quarter-finals so this year I wanted to do better. But the road is not over!” American.
“It’s very hard to play against her (Ostapenko, editor’s note) because it’s difficult to be aggressive. So I tried to be as soon as I could, but most of the time, I mainly tried to play long,” Gauff explained.
Hug between American Coco Gauff and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko after their match at the US Open, September 5, 2023 © Sarah Stier / Getty/AFP
“It’s by far my shortest match of the tournament,” she said, explaining that she would see with her coach if she was going to rest or do a training session during the day.
Especially since she is also qualified for the quarter-finals of the doubles tournament with her compatriot Jessica Pegula.
Finalist in 2022 at Roland-Garros, she will try to climb for the second time in her career in the final of a Major. To do this, she will have to beat the Romanian Sorana Cirstea (30th) or the Czech Karolina Mouchova (10th) on Thursday, who face each other on Tuesday evening.
© 2023 AFP
2023-09-05 21:39:26
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