Novak Djokovic was mad, angry, shouting at his own coaching box. Reason: The biggest champion of world tennis was being tested and teased by American Taylor Fritz in a first set where the Serbian was struggling. Before the word “struggle” leads to an impression Djokovic was facing a massive crisis, the truth was he had missed eight break points in the opening set.
Such occurrences are as rare as a cool breeze wafting through the air at the Rod Laver Arena in melting Melbourne on a January afternoon. Once Djokovic had finished yelling, maybe a way of releasing pent-up frustration, he changed gears, fast and furious to overcome Fritz 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and barge into the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
For Djokovic, any struggle on court, with his game or mind is a rare thing. These days, he has been fighting with the crowds as well, when they work him up. But then, as is the case most often, Djokovic finds a way to hit the winning strokes and then crush his opponent. Two days back, he had walked through his fourth round in straight sets.
Maybe, Tuesday’s mild struggle was ‘Taylor’-made for Djokovic, as he dropped a set and then roared back in the next two sets to close in on another massive record.
His hunger after winning 24 Grand Slam titles continues to grow, and in Australia, he is hero-worshipped. Gunning for his 11th Australian Open title, Djokovic sensed urgency in the last two sets as he walked away smiling. Stats has a great story to tell, Djokovic had never lost to Taylor Fritz in eight previous meetings. The one on Tuesday promised a different script before Djokovic showed he was not going to give up so easily, smashing his groundstrokes in the last two sets.
The heat was searing, an afternoon match, where Novak needed ice packs to stay cool. He had lost his cool in between but when he needed to up the level, Djokovic was the master. Not many have such rich experience at the highest levels in Grand Slams. So, if he is not going to win the last two matches Down Under, that would be a surprise.
At the post match conference, Djokovic was his funny self. Asked who he would prefer in the next round, he said both are in good form. “I watched Rublev the other night against (Alex) de Minaur. Some of the quickest and most gruelling exchanges I’ve seen in the Rod Laver arena in years. They both played incredible tennis. Sinner is playing the tennis of his life. He had a fantastic ending to last season. We had a couple great encounters in Torino and the Davis Cup,” he said, a semi-finalist at the AO for the 11th time.
Earlier on, rising American star Coco Gauff showed skill and will to outlast Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 7-6(8/6), 6-7(3/7), 6-2 for a place in the last four. The Ukrainians have done well at the season’s first Grand Slam. Yet, for Coco to come good was important as she is hoping to showcase her strength in tough conditions. Yes, she had won the US Open last summer in New York but the tennis in Australia is exacting.
Both Coco and Marta were in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first time. In the end, Coco topped. “Obviously sometimes when you’re down 5-1, you’re not expecting to win the set,” Gauff said later. “I believe every point, every game matters and eventually the score started to get closer,” added the American.