By Anshu Taneja
What do these names have in common? John Isner, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda, Tommy Paul…well let’s stop there for now. Figured it out? Yes, they’re all Americans, and they’re just some of the top players from the United States to have been pummelled by Novak Djokovic as he continues to set, make, break, and smash every tennis record you can think of.
No American has beaten Novak Djokovic since Sam Querry in the third round of Wimbledon in 2016. Let that sink in for a moment.
By taking apart American number one Taylor Fritz – yet again – in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, he also set a record of 47 Grand Slam semi-final appearances. To put that in perspective: that is almost twelve years of unrivalled consistency of reaching the latter stages of the Grand Slams when mere mortals would simply be content with a dozen healthy years on the tour.
“I was very lucky to encounter some very knowledgeable, very passionate people that supported me, believed in my talent and without them, without their support–my parents are here–I wouldn’t be here,” said Djokovic.
“That’s the long answer of what goes through my head when I hear these numbers–there are a lot of things that I’m very grateful for. Obviously it’s a huge opportunity every single time I step out on the court at this age and this stage of my life, I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll get so I’m trying to enjoy as much as I can.”
Tuesday’s match-up at the US Open featured an in-form Fritz against the super Serb but with a dreadful head-to-head record of 0-7 in which he had only ever won two sets, in one match. Every other encounter ended in a straight sets defeat and today’s contest was no different with Djokovic copying the same playbook that had served him so well before, namely taking his returns as early as possible and avoiding Fritz’s frightening forehand.
Even though he lost serve once in the opening set on a hot and humid Arthur Ashe Stadium, Djokovic broke the Fritz serve three times to take a one set lead in 43 minutes. Fritz applied more pressure in the second and tried to make it more competitive but could not take advantage of his breakpoints, constantly struggled with winning points on his second serve and was again broken to go two sets down.
When Djokovic, who will regain the top-ranking next week after this tournament, broke serve to go 4-3 up in the third, the result looked a formality, but in the next game he became distracted when someone from the crowd yelled out during a point and he lost serve moments later. With the score now 4-4, this was Fritz’s big moment against an irate Djokovic, but instead went 0-40 down and lost serve himself. Djokovic served out and ended the match with 25 winners while Fritz was at an alarming 28% for points won on second serves.
“I like the energy and the atmosphere on the court here. I thrive on that energy, whatever the energy is, use it as a fuel to try and play my best tennis,” Djokovic said. “I have been playing on this court for so many years, so many epic matches. I can’t wait for another one in a few days time.”
And so, Djokovic breaks another Roger Federer record by reaching the most Grand Slam semi-finals, where – predicably – he will face another American for a place in the US Open Final on Sunday.
