The Serbian Novak Djokovic (no. 1) did not shy away from the intense heat and defeated the American Taylor Fritz for the eighth time in three hours, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2 and 6-3. 44 minutes, to become the first Australian Open semi-finalist.
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“I hope to see you soon with the racket. I suffered a lot in the first two because of their level. It was very hot and with the sun it was complicated,” the Serb told local Nick Kyrgios who interviewed the on-court after the crash.
His rival will be known after the clash between Italian Jannik Sinner (3) and Russian Andrey Rublev (5), in the last scheduled service of the night on the center court of the Rod Laver Arena.
“Sinner is playing the best tennis of his life. We have had very fair matches lately,” he added about what his next rival could be.
The one from Belgrade took his 11th place in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park and equaled local Jack Crawford, in a ranking led by Swiss Roger Federer with 15 semi-final appearances.
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The heat could not unite with a Fritz who was about to beat him in his sleep, the Rod Laver Arena, in the 2021 edition. On that occasion, the American equalized two sets behind and the Serb miraculously recovered from an injury that prevented him from moving. The crowd had to be evacuated as the Covid quarantine came into effect at midnight and the ending was the same as always at Melbourne Park: Djokovic’s victory.
Glassy-eyed Fritz did not hide his dissatisfaction with the Serb’s attitude at a press conference, but also could not find the formula to finish the most successful tennis player of all time.
Three years later, the only American representative in the draw was given the opportunity to take revenge for that fateful night on a day at Melbourne Park that attracted more people than in recent days, after the maximum temperature rose by eleven degrees, from 20 to 31. in a matter of one day.
Djokovic, who had played fifteen consecutive matches in the evening before his clash in the previous round against the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (20), suffered physically from the intense heat during the first two sets, which were extremely equal, against a ten years younger Fritz then the first world ranking.
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The main difference at the end of the clash between both tennis players was the effectiveness of the serve, after Djokovic collected 82% of the points played with the first serve, which he contracted with Fritz’s 66%. This meant that the Serbian had 21 break points throughout the match, while Fritz only had six chances.
Another major difference was the variety in the Serbian’s tennis, which relies on serves and groundstrokes with different spin, height and depth, while the San Diego player abused the same one-dimensional proposition: powerful flat serves and fierce hits. .
Fritz’s quick shots lost steam when he returned from the bathroom, where he remained for almost eight minutes, after the end of the second set, after the intense sun had hidden behind the court and given oxygen to a Djokovic that was regaining energy.
The reigning champion finished the match with 20 aces, 52 winners and 26 unforced errors.
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Djokovic has the chance to extend his winning streak that started in the first round of the 2019 edition against American Mitchell Krueger, and which became the longest during the last edition, to 34 after surpassing former number one Andre Agassi , who won 26 games in a row.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
