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Novak Djokovic wants his eleventh victory in Melbourne
Photo: Andy Wong / AP
Novak Djokovic is in the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the 48th time.
The 36-year-old Serb prevailed in a high-class quarter-final at the Australian Open 7:6 (7:3), 4:6, 6:2, 6:3 against the American Taylor Fritz and took his eleventh triumph in Melbourne into view.
»I suffered a lot in the first few sentences.
It was very hot, physically and emotionally very draining," said Djokovic in an on-court interview with the injured Australian professional Nick Kyrgios: "It will be difficult in the semi-finals, both are in excellent shape."
Djokovic has won all nine of his matches against Fritz.
So far he has always won the title when he reached the semi-finals.
The Spanish Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz, who will play against German number one Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, is considered Djokovic's main competitor.
Djokovic opponent Sinner still without losing a set
In the semi-finals, Djokovic will now face South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner, who prevailed late in the Australian night 6:4, 7:6 (7:5), 6:3 against Russian Andrej Rublew.
Sinner has not lost a set so far in the tournament.
Even a 1:5 deficit in the tiebreak of the second set against Rublev didn't stop Sinner, who was attacking his abdominal muscles at times during the match.
For the South Tyrolean, it is the second major semi-final of his career after Wimbledon 2023. Rublew's curse, however, continues: he lost all of his ten quarter-finals at Grand Slam events.
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