Nole is thru to the Australian Open semis!
World no.1 Novak Djokovic battled previous no.12 seed Taylor Fritz 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday night in Melbourne to seal a semi-final berth for the eleventh time on the hard-court Main occasion.
It was an entertaining and thrilling conflict. Novak gained the opening set in a tie-break, after saving two break/set factors within the ninth recreation.
Fritz grabbed the second set after an early break to degree the competition.
Djokovic missed out on his first 15 break factors in Rod Laver Area. The ten-time Melbourne titlist finally capitalised on his two break possibilities within the third set and regained management.
As soon as Novak hit the highest gear, Fritz couldn’t do a lot, although he fought till the top. The 2 had traded breaks as soon as within the fourth set, earlier than the no.1 seed made a vital break to like, wrapping up the victory in three hours and 45 minutes.
“I suffered lots within the first couple of units, additionally resulting from his high-quality tennis,” Djokovic mentioned in his on-court interview. “He was serving effectively, he was staying near the road, he was type of suffocating me from the again of the courtroom. I used to be taking part in many of the rallies on my again foot. It was actually tough to seek out the best timing. It was extraordinarily scorching whereas the solar was nonetheless on the market. Bodily very draining, emotionally as effectively. On the finish of the day, I managed to interrupt him when it mattered, within the third and fourth. I upped my recreation halfway via the third set, all the best way to the top.”
Match statistics: aces (20-16), double faults (3-2), winners (52-63), unforced errors (26-39), complete factors gained (148-121).
Novak will play in opposition to no.4 seed Jannik Sinner on Friday for a spot within the grand last (4-2 H2H file). The Italian raced previous Andrey Rublev (RUS, 5) in straight units.
Photograph: AP
