Novak Djokovic has just reached another Grand Slam semi-final despite facing a tough test against Taylor Fritz.
The American gave his all and pushed the world number one in the first two sets, but the gruelling nature of the clash saw him wane.
Such a deterioration allowed the Serbian to exert his influence, and eventually run out as a comfortable winner, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
But what record did Djokovic break today, as he reached the Australian Open semi-finals yet again? Let’s take a closer look…
What record did Novak Djokovic break today?
Despite being pushed to the brink in the opening exchanges, which saw him squeeze out the first set on a tiebreak and lose the second, there were still plenty of opportunities for the 36-year-old to gain the impetus.
After all, he seemed to have a break point crop up every time Fritz served, yet it took him over two hours before claiming his first earlier today.
In his post-match interview, Nick Kyrgios would detail that stat, and actually revealed that it broke a personal and severely unwanted record.
The Australian claimed, just days after branding him the greatest of all time: ‘You were actually 0 for 15 on break points today. That was the first time ever in your career you weren’t able to take one [over that many points]. How were you able to keep bouncing back, because he was serving great today?’
Djokovic replied, live on Eurosport: ‘It felt like playing you! With your serve. Taylor has one of the best serves in the world. He has had for many years. And when he is feeling it…
‘I saw him play Tsitsipas a few days ago and he was serving extremely well, so I knew the kind of threat he poses when he serves with such high quality. The conversion of the break points was really poor. It was four for 21 today but I managed to break him when it mattered, in the third and the fourth.’
Taylor Fritz hung on for dear life
Whilst many might point to a lack of ruthlessness from the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Fritz’s efforts cannot be diminished.
After all, the top American really pushed the favourite today, despite going into the clash having previously lost all eight of their encounters.
With powerful serving and precise finishers, he went toe-to-toe with the greatest for way over two hours.
And yet, despite his younger frame, his body eventually started to cave in on itself. Meanwhile, the veteran thrived.
Djokovic stayed afloat and ahead in the match, and then when his opportunity arrived he struck with that aforementioned ruthlessness that was perhaps missing at the start of the encounter.
Fritz can leave feeling heartened by the manner of his performance, but it will go down as yet another loss to a man he seemingly cannot surpass. Admittedly, few likely will at all this season.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
