Novak Djokovic defeated Taylor Fritz 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 at the Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday to qualify for the Australian Open 2024 semi-final.
Djokovic, 36, maintained his unstoppable form and defeated his American counterpart as he cruised into the semi-final of the slam for the 11th time, his 48th Grand Slam semi-final overall.
Fritz gave a tough time to the Serb at the start of the first set as the American had two set points but Djokovic, known for thriving under pressure, overcame the deficit and eventually ended up winning 7-6.
Frtiz made an excellent comeback in the second set and won 6-4, making Djokovic fight throughout the 10-gamer.
However, Djokovic didn’t give in to the pressure of having lost the previous set and beat Fritz in successive sets to qualify for another Australian Open semi-final to continue the pursuit of his record-extending 11th slam in Melbourne.
Djokovic has now beaten Fritz in nine out of nine matches head to head.
While doing so, the 36-year-old also recorded his 15th ATP top 20 win at Grand Slams since turning 35, overtaking the legendary Roger Federer who did it 14 times.
The Serb opened up on facing Andrey Rublev or Jannik Sinner saying that both are at the top of their games and a match against either of them would be a great challenge.
“Both are in great form," Djokovic said when asked about his semi-final against one of Sinner or Rublev."I watched Rublev the other night against de Minaur. Some of the quickest & most gruelling exchanges I’ve seen in Rod Laver Arena in years. They both played incredible tennis.
"Sinner is playing the tennis of his life. He had a fantastic ending of last season. We had a couple great encounters in Torino & Davis Cup. Very close one’s going 7-6, 7-5 in the third. I can expect him to always play on the highest level. Let’s get some popcorn, you and I. We’ll chill on the sofa, enjoy the match, & watch them play.”
Remaining Men's singles quarter-finals:
Q2: Andrey Rublev vs Jannik Sinner
Q3: Daniil Medvedev vs Hubert Hurkacz
Q4: Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev
Women’s singles quarter-finals:
Q2: Barbora Krejcikova vs Aryna Sabalenka
Q3: Linda Noskova vs Dayana Yastremska
Q4: Anna Kalinskaya vs Qinwen Zheng
The remaining schedule of the Australian Open
January 25: Women’s singles semi-finals
January 26: Men’s singles semi-finals
January 27: Women’s singles final
January 28: Men’s singles final