Top seed Novak Djokovic came through a gruelling four-set contest with American Taylor Fritz to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open, where he’ll face Italian Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic, who is seeking a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title and 11th at Melbourne Park, wore Fritz down to win 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-2 6-3 in three hours and 45 minutes.
Given the length of Djokovic and Fritz’s match, along with a three-set win for Coco Gauff earlier in the day, it was not until gone 10.40pm that Sinner and Andrey Rublev hit their first balls on Rod Laver Arena in a delayed night session.
Despite trailing 5-1 in the second-set tiebreak and being seemingly troubled by an abdominal muscle at one stage, Sinner came through to clinch a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 victory soon after 1.20am local time.
Djokovic overcomes stiff Fritz resistance
The Serb appeared to be in a real tussle when his inability to take advantage of 15 break points across the first two sets allowed Fritz to level the match after two sets that had taken a combined total of two hours and 23 minutes.
However, the American – playing in his first Australian Open quarter-final – was unable to sustain what had been a hugely impressive level, and Djokovic broke twice in each of the final two sets to close out the match.
Djokovic is seeking a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title
“I suffered a lot in the first couple of sets, due to his high-quality tennis,” Djokovic said.
“He was serving well, he was staying close to the line and he was kind of suffocating me from the back of the court. Most of the rallies were on my back foot and it was really difficult to find the right timing.
“It was really hot while the sun was still out there. Physically very draining, emotionally as well.”
The 36-year-old has now won 33 successive matches at the Australian Open, with his last defeat at the tournament having come in 2018. Djokovic was unable to defend his title in 2022 due to his coronavirus vaccination status.
Djokovic’s appearance in the semi-finals will be his 48th at a Grand Slam, extending a record he took sole ownership of on his way to winning the US Open in September.
Sinner inflicts record 10th quarter-final defeat on Rublev
Sinner awaits Djokovic in the final four, with the 22-year-old fourth seed beating Rublev in straight sets in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The Italian ended last season on a hot streak and has maintained such levels in this tournament, reaching the semi-finals without dropping a set.
Jannik Sinner has yet to drop a set in his run to the Australian Open semi-finals
Sinner has also won two of his last three meetings with Djokovic, beating him in the round robin stage at the ATP Tour Finals and in the Davis Cup last November, though he was defeated by the veteran Serb in the final of the former tournament in Turin.
Sinner said of the prospect of facing Djokovic again: “This is one of the biggest tournaments in the world and I’m happy to play the No 1 in the world.
“The only thing I can control is that I give my 100 per cent and fight for every ball, then we will see what happens.”
For Rublev, it’s yet more quarter-final heartbreak at a slam as he became the first male player in the open era to lose his first 10 quarter-finals.
Andrey Rublev had the chance to level the match up in sets when leading 5-1 in the second-set tiebreak
The Russian had a window of opportunity in the second set when leading 5-1 in the tiebreak, only for Sinner to rattle off the next six points to go up 2-0 in sets.
“I don’t know how I did that,” Sinner said afterwards. “When we changed ends, it was a bit windy, so I knew I had a bit of an advantage and I tried to hold serve for 5-2.
“Somehow I broke him once then twice and was 5-4 on serve. These kind of moments I love to play. This is what I practise for and I’m really excited when I have these pressure points.
“I just try to stay aggressive and it went my way today, so I’m really happy.”
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