Djokovic is two matches away from his 25th Grand Slam

Australia Number one seed Novak Djokovic entered the Australian Open semi-finals after defeating Taylor Fritz 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on the afternoon of January 23.

Djokovic reached the Australian Open semi-finals for the 11th time, having won all 10 of his previous titles. The Serbian has only reached the quarter-finals three times, with the last time coming 10 years ago.

Taylor Fritz had some bright spots in his game as he expected. He became the first player to save 15 consecutive break points against Nole, including three in the opening game of a 16-minute match. Fritz hit 63 winners, 11 more than his senior. But those improvements were not enough for the 1.96m tall player to stop the Grand Slam record holder.

Djokovic saves the ball during the Australian Open quarter-final match against Fritz at Rod Laver Arena on the afternoon of January 23. Photo: ATP — Djokovic saves the ball during the Australian Open quarter-final match against Fritz at Rod Laver Arena on the afternoon of January 23. Photo: *ATP*

Fritz had a below-par day. He hit 16 aces, four fewer than Djokovic, and only won 58% of his first serves. He won 66% of his first serves, far behind Djokovic's 82%. Djokovic had the better serve on most of the big moments. Fritz won just 13 points on Djokovic's 72 first-serve returns.

The American's biggest regret was two missed break-points in game 12 of the first set. Fritz led 40-15 but squandered it, before losing 3-7 in the tie-break, which is Djokovic's forte.

The match was tougher for Djokovic than their meeting at the US Open last year. The world number one lost the opening service game of the second set and could not come back in that set. But the final two sets were a completely different Djokovic. He served consistently, saving four of the six break points by increasing the difficulty of his returns.

Djokovic changed the tempo with sustained rallies, combined with topspin slices. Fritz lost his serve as he played. The six-time ATP champion rallied at the end of the fourth set, when he was trailing 2-4. But he lost his serve game right after winning a break point and had no chance of taking the match into a fifth set.

Djokovic closed out the match after three hours and 45 minutes, also his ninth consecutive win over Fritz. He will meet Jannik Sinner or Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals on January 25.

Vy Anh

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