Novak Djokovic saved the first 10 breakpoints against American Taylor Fritz under the lights of Arthur Ash Stadium, running the US Open Semi-Finals on Tuesday night.
No. 7 When Djokovic finally lost a breakpoint, he responded quickly by breaking Fritz, then claiming a second set victory, celebrating by blowing kisses to the crowd of Flushing Meadows, who was first split with loyalty to the greatest Serbs of all time and California-born Fritz.
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Early in the third set, Djokovic, 38, flashed a tween disguised his age. It didn’t score any points for him, but showed his growing confidence in the match that visibly annoyed 27-year-old and fourth-seeded Fritz.
Novak Djokovic brought a 10-0 record against Taylor Fritz, which was not upset in American soil.
(Sarah Stier via Getty Images)
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Djokovic brought a 10-0 record against Fritz, who had not moved in American soil. Not even after finding the groove in the third set where Fritz bought him an hour in the tournament.
After winning quarterfinals 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 on Tuesday, Djokovic will play Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s Blockbuster semi-final round. On his mission to revenge his defeat by Italian Giannik criminals in the Wimbledon Finals, No. 2 Seeded Alcaraz has yet to drop a set in five matches at the US Open this year.
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Djokovic is 5-3 against 22-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion Alkaraz, who was remarkable in the 2024 Olympic finals but lost twice in the Wimbledon Finals.
At a critical point in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night, nerves and premature forced errors and double faults handcuffed Fritz.
A big backhanded up of the line gave us a potential break chance in the first game of the match. The Long Returns hurt Fritz in the second game, while also missing the mark, his greatest weapon, his powerful first serve. Still, he fired the pressure-cooked forehand winner and forced the deuce. With an advantage, Djokovic ran Fritz during the breakpoint, eventually establishing a 2-0 set lead, quickly swelling to 3-0.
Fritz won the next three service games, the third in which he dug himself out of the set point hole. Then, 5-3, he almost broke the error-prone Djokovic, who suddenly got the error-prone, but Djokovic won after a 25-shot breakpoint rally and a cinematic front and back deuce.
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Fritz quickly bouncing off in the second set, crushing the first two service games against Djokovic for a 2-1 lead. He then flirted with Breaking Djokovic again, except for him. Will wasn’t short on his second effort at Deuce. Djokovic finished the marathon and won a cross-court winner and a set tying game staring at the crowd. The next game, Fritz followed up the beam backhand winner with a 124 mph serve before returning to front 3-2.
Except Djokovic continued to save the rest point, he continued to knock on the door of the break that changed momentum. Fritz finally paired a break in the 10th game of the second set with a service game victory. With 5-5 in place, Fritz got engaged to the fans and gave them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He then went double and handed the breakback to Djokovic. Djokovic claimed a two-set lead in the next game.
Turning his back against the wall, Fritz did his best in the third set. His serve delivered the ace he was riding during the tournament, taking advantage of the crowd that began to make Djokovic uneasy, and got an early set break to get him to win 6-3.
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Fritz’s forehand improved during the match, just like his serve. But it was too little and too late. He and Djokovic traded the service game in the fourth set before Djokovic defeated Fritz in the 10th match.
Djokovic’s road to number 25
The Serbs are still searching for his unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title. He played the Wimbledon semi-finals earlier this summer, but injured injuries in the quarter-finals obstructed him, where he resigned to the sinners 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
Recently, the injury was thorny on Djokovic’s side. He finished Australia’s opening this year after just one set in the semi-final match as his hamstrings were torn apart. During the French Open in 2024, he had to retreat in front of the dormitory after toreting the meniscus with his right knee, an injury requiring surgery.
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During this year’s US Open, he fought through a terrible-toed blister while ordering a first-round victory over 19-year-old American learner Tien. In the next round, Djokovic dropped the opening set that opened another young American, Zachary Svaida. However, he always recovered to improve to 36-0 in the first two rounds of the US, which was always open. Along the way, Djokovic advanced to the third round of his 75th Grand Slam in his career. This is the most such appearance than anyone in the sport.
With two more wins, including a fourth straight set victory over German Jean Leonard Struff, Djokovic became the oldest player to arrive in the US Open Quarter Finals since Jimmy Connors arrived there at the age of 39 in 1991. Along the way, he also attended due to hip and neck issues, but neither of them seemed to have a major impact on his play.
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While older and more susceptible to injuries, combat-tested Djokovic remains a threat to the Grand Slam. He still has Fritz’s number, that’s certainly true.
