ICE AND A SLICE
Djokovic stays cool to win a gruelling marathon against Fritz in brutal heat but says: ‘It was not enjoyable at all’
NOVAK DJOKOVIC endured broiling afternoon heat to reach his 11th Australian Open semifinal – then complained that TV schedulers hold too much power after rival Jannik Sinner’s match finished in the early hours of the morning.
The Serbian superstar beat American Taylor Fritz in four gruelling sets for a record-equalling 33rd win at Melbourne Park.
Djokovic was playing his second consecutive match in the afternoon session instead of his favoured 7pm slot. And the 10-time champion placed ice all over his body during changeovers in the 30-degree heat before winning 7-6 4-6 6-2 6-3 in three hours and 45 minutes.
Djokovic, who had a viral infection earlier in the tournament, said: “It was a real struggle – physically, mentally, emotionally. I think we both felt the effect of the heat. It’s hard to bring down your heart rate and control your breathing.
It’s very intense.
“The ice bags on the head, all over the body, is one of the ways to try to bring the temperature down, cool yourself down a bit, because you feel you’re trapped in this heat, inside and outside.
“I suffered a lot in the first couple of sets. He was suffocating me from the back of the court.
“I actually said to my team that this match was not an enjoyable match for me at all. Of course I’m proud to have overcome the challenge but it was not enjoyable at all.”
Starting at 4.43pm, Fritz’s first service game set the tone by lasting 16 minutes and 24 points.
Djokovic went on to win the firstset tie-break – he responded by blowing kisses to Nick Kyrgios in the TV commentary box – but the bigserving American saved all 15 break points he faced in the first two sets. The world No.1 then took three of his next five to move within two wins of his 25th Grand Slam title. “I managed to break him when it mattered in the third and fourth sets,” he said.
Djokovic, unbeaten here since 2018, equalled the winning streak set by Serbian-born Monica Seles between 1991-99.
The long matches won by Coco Gauff and Djokovic saw discussions over moving the Aryna Sabalenka match to another court but the schedule was followed and the Sinner versus Andrey Rublev clash did not start till 10.42pm.
Though it lasted just three sets, with Sinner winning 6-4 7-6 6-3, the match did not finish until 1.22am.
With both men’s semis now held on Friday, Djokovic said: “What kind of advantage will I have? We have two days so plenty of time for whoever wins that match tonight to recover. TV broadcasting pays a lot of money to the tournament and sponsors the tournament. TV broadcasting channels have the biggest power. That is not unusual because they are giving us the platform to reach out to millions of people, which is great.
“It’s hard to say what the best scenario is in this case.”
But Fritz said: “I think it’s rough. It just screws up your whole clock.”
Eurosport analyst John Mcenroe said: It’s just crazy to put these guys out there that late. I just think for the fans, players and the tournament, they need to do something.”
Andy Murray finished his secondround win here last year at 4.05am and the start of Sunday play was supposed to ease scheduling pressure.
Djokovic, who plays Sinner in the semi-final, is the 4-5 tournament favourite, with Sinner 7-2. Carlos Alcaraz, in action this morning, is second favourite at 5-2.