Published23. January 2024, 10:33
Australian Open: Djokovic – Sinner, attention blockbuster en approche
Jostled by a very good Taylor Fritz for two sets, the Serb then took advantage of the shadows (7-6 4-6 6-2 6-3). He will meet Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.
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Jeremy Santallo
Novak Djokovic was interviewed by Nick Kyrgios following his quarter-final victory over Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open.
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Unsinkable. In the furnace of Melbourne Park, Novak Djokovic once again displayed his perfect mastery of his weak times on Tuesday. After two sets of suffering, he ended up wearing out the American Taylor Fritz (ATP 12), who physically stalled as the shadows covered the Central of the Rod Laver Arena. After a long duel lasting 3 hours 45 minutes, the 36-year-old Serb won 7-6 (3) 4-6 6-2 6-3. He will play his 11th semi-final at the Australian Open and his 48th Grand Slam on Friday.
Tie-break maison
Scheduled for a second time in a row during the day, Novak Djokovic arrived at the Rod Laver Arena in the middle of the afternoon, under a scorching sun and more than 30 degrees on the clock. It was he who initially seemed to suffer the most from the weather conditions. In great difficulty with his first service ball – it’s so rare – the world No. 1 had to go through with a house tie-break, that is to say without mistakes, to win a 1st set of ‘1h20.
At that time, the record holder for Grand Slam titles (24) had collected a zero point on the break points he had obtained (0/8). The famine lasted much longer than expected for him. Broken from the start in the second set, the child from Belgrade missed seven more, most of them all saved by a magnificent Taylor Fritz on the backhand side. But after equalizing at 1 set everywhere, the American server plunged physically.
“I suffered a lot in the first two sets,” admitted Djokovic, interviewed by Nick Kyrgios on court after qualifying for the final four. This is above all due to the high quality tennis that Taylor produced. He served well, he played close to the lines. He made me choke from the baseline. On the majority of long rallies, I was on the back foot. It was very hard to find the right timing, it was extremely hot with the sun. It was taxing on a physical level but also on an emotional level. Congratulations to Fritz.”
Before returning the microphone to his friend Nick, around 8:30 p.m. local time, Djokovic proposed a program for the evening: popcorn on the sofa. But Jannik Sinner, 4th player in the world, did not make the TV session last by gaining the upper hand over Andrey Rublev, his pursuer in the ranking, in 2h39, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. Unplayable since the start of the fortnight, the Italian is the only one to have beaten the world No. 1 after Wimbledon – at the Masters and in the Davis Cup, therefore in three sets. They have a meeting again on Friday. We’re salivating in advance.