It was known that Novak Djokovic prefers the night session at the Australian Open. He had played under the spotlight the last 15 games in the tournament until he was knocked out in his round of 16 duel with Adrian Mannarino.
The reason had to be found in the fact that Alex de Miaur was the last Australian in competition and the organization scheduled him in prime time.
For the second in a row, Djokovic jumped onto the Rod Laver Arena in the early afternoon, when the sun was strongest. The Serb’s nerves get crossed when he feels the fatigue caused by the heat.
In the capital of Victoria it reached 33 degrees this Tuesday when there had been 18 on Monday. Nole sees everything dark when the temperature rises, it’s his kryptonite, and Taylor Fritz was close to taking advantage of it (7-6, 4-6, 6-2 and 6-3) despite having lost the previous eight between them..
The world number one wasted his first 15 breaking balls. Fritz took a break lead in the second set and maintained it until the score was tied. The clock showed two hours and 28 minutes since the start of hostilities.
The winner took it with his stool because they did not pay attention to him when he asked for some food supplement that did not appear in his bag.
Djokovic, already with the complicity of the shadows, he took over his rival’s serve in the second game of the third set. He took the opportunity to apply ice to his head during each of the breaks.
More ‘Grand Slam’ semi-finals
Novak Djokovic 48
Roger Federer 46
Rafael Nadal 38
Jimmy Connors 31
Ivan Lendl 28
The Balkan had headed straight towards his eleventh semi-final at the Australian Open, equaling Jack Crawford’s mark and four behind Roger Federer’s record. There are already 48 times that Novak has been among the four best in the ‘majors’, something that no one achieved.
Sinner o Rublev
The champion of 24 majors awaits the winner of the match between Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev in Friday’s semifinal. For now, Djokovic will have two days of rest. He is two wins away from revalidating the crown and maintaining number one.