MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Nobody has ever been better at this end of the Australian Open than Novak Djokovic, the 10-time champion.
Every time he’s won a quarterfinal at Melbourne Park — as he did against Taylor Fritz on Tuesday — he’s gone on to win the title.
The odds are usually stacked against his semifinal rival. Perhaps even more so against fourth-seeded Jannik Sinner, who won a quarterfinal over No. 5 Andrey Rublev that didn’t start until 10:42 p.m. and didn’t finish until 1:21 a.m. Wednesday.
Djokovic reached his record-extending 48th Grand Slam semifinal by beating Fritz 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 3 3/4 hours. Their match started late in the heat of the afternoon because U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff’s preceding win over Marta Kostyuk took more than three hours.
In an on-court interview with Australian player Nick Kyrgios, who has been sidelined by a long-term injury, Djokovic made a light-hearted joke about getting popcorn and watching Sinner vs. Rublev on late-night TV.