January 23, (THEWILL) – World number one Novak Djokovic continued his dominant reign over Taylor Fritz on Monday, defeating the American in four sets to reach his 48th career Grand Slam semi-final, a new record.
The thrilling match saw 36-year-old Djokovic forced to come from behind after dropping the second set to the 26-year-old Fritz. Playing in gruelling heat at the 2024 Australian Open, Djokovic took the opening set in a tiebreaker after nearly 1 and a half hours of play.
Fritz refused to go away though, breaking the Serb early in the second set and holding on to level the match. The top seed regained control in the third set, finally scoring a break of serve to go up 2-0 after multiple prior chances.
With Fritz struggling physically at times in the fourth set, Djokovic capitalised to break in the sixth game. He staved off a late comeback attempt to complete the 7-6(3) 4-6 6-2 6-3 victory in three-and-a-half hours. The win was his eighth straight over Fritz and books Djokovic’s spot in a record 12th Australian Open semi-final.
He will face either fifth seed Andrey Rublev or ninth seed Holger Rune in the semi-finals on Friday. The Serb is aiming for a record-extending 11th Australian Open crown and remains on course to claim a record-setting 24th Grand Slam singles title.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
