The Serbian Novak Djokovic maintained his hegemony over the American Taylor Fritz this Tuesday and, after some disputed first sets, won 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2 and 6-3 to get into the top four of the Australian Open and reach no less than his 48th Grand Slam semi-final.
The 36-year-old ten-time Australian Open champion had defeated the 1.96m Californian big man in their previous eight meetings and did it again this time, albeit with some difficulties.
“I suffered a lot in the first couple of sets, also due to his high-quality tennis. He served well, stayed close to the line and suffocated me from the back of the court,” said Djokovic in a nice chat on the court with Nick Kyrgios , who although not retired, served as official interviewer.
And the number one in the men’s ranking added: “I was on the wrong side of most of the rallies. It was difficult to find the right moment. It was very hot while the sun was still high. Physically it was very exhausting, emotionally too.”
The first set was a real show as the Serbian was unable to break the serve of Fritz (12th), who saved eight break points and even had two set points. But Djokovic recovered from both to force a tiebreaker, where he raised his level.
“The conversion of break points was really poor, but at the end of the day, I managed to break him when it mattered, in the third and fourth,” Djokovic specified in this regard.
Along these lines, he remarked: “I think I improved my game from the middle of the third set until the end. I served very well, I probably had more aces than him (20-16), which is a surprise.”
Margaret Court (left) during Djokovic’s match. (AFP)
Djokovic is seeking his 25th Grand Slam title in Melbourne to surpass the Australian Margaret Court, with whom he currently shares the record and who was present in the stands watching the Serbian in action.
Sinner, inside
And in the semifinals he will face on Thursday – time to be defined – the Italian Jannik Sinner (4th), who in the second round of the day this Tuesday almost without problems dispatched the Russian Andrey Rublev (5th) by 6-4, 7 -6 (5) and 6-3.
The 22-year-old Colorado has a record of two wins and four losses against the Serbian king, although he won two of his last three meetings, both last November and by three sets (in the first round of the ATP Finals – he then lost the final- and Davis Cup).
The other pair of semifinalists will be revealed on Wednesday, when the quarterfinal matches between the Russian Daniil Medvedev (3rd) and the Polish Hubert Hurkacz (9th) are completed – this Tuesday from 11:30 p.m. – and the clash between the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz (2nd) and the German Alexander Zverev (6th) -Wednesday at 6:30-.
Sabalenka, unstoppable
The Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, number two in the world, showed all her power in Melbourne and is already in the semifinals: she eliminated the Czech Bárbora Krejcikova (11th) 6-2 and 6-3.
The current Australian champion has not given up any sets so far in the Grand Slam while giving up just 16 games in her five matches, including a tremendous double 6-0 in the third round against the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, who did not greet her because of the war in his country.
In the semis she will face the American Coco Gauff (4th), who fought harder than expected to beat the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (37th) 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3) and 6-2. They will play this Wednesday, with a schedule to be defined.
The remaining quarterfinals will be played this Tuesday from 10 p.m. with the Czech Linda Noskova (50th) vs. the Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska (93rd), and on Wednesday at 5:15 with the Chinese Qinwen Zheng (11th) against the Russian Anna Kalinskaya (75th).
2024-01-24 03:01:00
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