‘Trapped’ Djokovic feels heat at Australian Open as he reaches semis

MELBOURNE — Novak Djokovic said he felt “trapped” in the heat during his battling quarter-final win against Taylor Fritz on Tuesday, which left him on track for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title. The Serbian World No.1 struggled with the conditions early in the contest but came through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The top seed used towels and ice packs in a desperate bid to cool himself down on a hot summer’s day in Melbourne, admitting it was “not an enjoyable match for me at all”.

“I tried everything I possibly can in the very short amount of time in the changeovers,” Djokovic said after the clash at Rod Laver Arena, which stretched to three hours and 45 minutes.

“But, you know, I think we both felt the effect of the heat. When you’re playing on a hard court, the heat is absorbed in the surface. So down there for us players, we feel probably even more heat than you would feel in the stands.”

He added: “The high level of tennis and intensity exerts a lot of effort, and you feel, you know, you’re spending a lot of energy and you don’t have much time to recover... you feel you’re trapped in this heat, inside and outside.”

The win was Djokovic’s 33rd consecutive victory in Melbourne, a startling run stretching back to 2018. He did not compete at the event in 2022 due to his coronavirus vaccination status.

The 36-year-old came into the match boasting a perfect 8-0 record against the American 12th seed.

And it was business as usual as the Serb — more used to playing night matches in Melbourne — edged a gruelling first set that lasted 84 minutes.

Fritz, 26, had two set points on the Djokovic serve in the 12th game, but the champion snuffed them out and dominated the subsequent tie-break to take control.

The top seed left the court afer the first set and when he returned he suffered the first break of the match.

Fritz, who survived eight break points in the opening set, fought off seven more break points during the second set to pull level.

Djokovic finally broke at his 16th attempt to wrest control of the third set and broke again to leave himself one set away from victory.

The Serb broke for the third time in the match in the sixth game of the fourth set when Fritz tamely dumped a forehand into the net.

A lucky net cord helped the American break back to stay alive but he doubled faulted in the following game to hand the initiative back to Djokovic and this time he made no mistake.

“The way I played in the third and fourth is something that I’m really pleased with,” said Djokovic.

Victory leaves him just two wins from standing alone as the only player in history — male or female — to have collected 25 Grand Slam singles titles.

Djokovic, who has never failed to win the Australian Open once he has reached the semi-finals, is level with Margaret Court on 24 majors.

But he is already out on his own in men’s tennis — two clear of the injured Rafael Nadal and four ahead of the retired Roger Federer.