Novak Djokovic took a step forward in his quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title by beating ninth seed Taylor Fritz, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarter-finals of the US Open. With this win, Djokovic managed to enter a record 47th Grand Slam semi-final. Djokovic surpassed Swiss maestro Roger Federer’s all-time men’s Major semi-final record of 46. The win over Fritz also helped the Serbian champion become the first man ever to claim 250 career wins over top players. Before this game, Djokovic was already 25 wins ahead of Federer.
Following the quarter-final victory, Djokovic admitted that conditions were quite challenging.
“Very humid conditions, difficult to play for both players but that’s why we train, try to get ourselves in the best possible conditions to deliver. Not easy, but you’ve got to fight. As the song went that they played here five minutes ago, you’ve got to fight for your right to party,” Djokovic was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.
Having put up a series of sensational performances in front of his home crowd, Taylor Fritz entered the quarter-finals as the only player at the Flushing Meadows this year to not drop a set and broken only once in 50 service games. But all those records were broken by Novak Djokovic, quite quickly and comfortably. The Serb soon broke Fritz three times and then claimed the first set with an ace. Djokovic eventually required two hours and 35 minutes to get the better of Fritz. The three-time US Open champion ended the fixture with 25 winners to 26 unforced errors.
Fritz did get chances to script a comeback in the match but the American tennis player never made full use of those opportunities. After the game, Fritz rued those missed chances. “I had the chances in the third. I started playing some pretty good points… I didn’t take my chances. He was solid, and I didn’t perform well enough on a lot of the big points,” the 25-year-old said.
Djokovic now eyes his 13th semi-final in New York this time. Moreover, the 36-year-old is currently enjoying a clinical record of 12-0 against American opponents at the Flushing Meadows. In his next US Open encounter, Djokovic will be up against America’s Ben Shelton. A victory over the 20-year-old opponent will enable Djokovic to reach the final stage at all four Grand Slams in the very same year just for the third time in his illustrious career.
Meanwhile, current world number one Carlos Alcaraz will face Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals of the US Open.
