Tennis star pushes himself to the limit
Djokovic wins in the most uncomfortable conditions
09/05/2023 10:38 p.m
Top favorite Novak Djokovic is in the semifinals of the US Open for the 13th time. With his victory, the Serb ends American Taylor Fritz’s hopes of a home coup. Djokovic is only two wins away from his 24th triumph in a Grand Slam tournament.
Novak Djokovic sweated through three shirts, he shuffled across the pitch almost in slow motion between rallies, but after two and a half extremely sweaty hours he was allowed to shout out joy and relief: The 36-year-old Serb defeated Taylor Fritz from the USA 6: 1, 6: 4, 6: 4, at the US Open in New York he reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the 47th time, once more than Roger Federer – a new record.
The match was a special kind of challenge. At temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius and humidity of 50 percent, Djokovic stuck his shirt to his body after just a few games in the first set. “It’s like tennis in the sauna,” commented Boris Becker on sportdeutschland.tv, “Djokovic is physically at the limit,” he observed in the second sentence. Three-time US Open winner Djokovic admitted: “It was very muggy. It was very difficult to play. It wasn’t easy.”
Djokovic divides his forces better
The conditions didn’t contribute to the level of the match either: both players acted very erroneously. Djokovic, however, managed to divide his forces well, lurking for his break chances and using them with great efficiency. On the other hand, Fritz, who had made it into the quarter-finals for the second time in one of the four Grand Slams without losing a set (after Wimbledon 2022), left too many chances, especially in the third set, to be able to turn the match around.
Co-favorite Coco Gauff had previously made it into the women’s semifinals – with a demonstration of power. The 19-year-old American defeated Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia 6-0, 6-2, after just 67 minutes she used her third match point in what had been a very one-sided encounter for a long time. “It feels very good,” she said about her only second semi-final entry in a Grand Slam after the French Open in 2022.
First set lasts only 20 minutes
Ostapenko had previously defeated the defending champion Iga Swiatek from Poland in three sets in the round of 16, this time she was completely lost, especially in the first set, which lasted just 20 minutes. In the end, she accumulated 36 “unforced errors” with her risky all-or-nothing style of play.
After the catastrophic first set, Ostapenko caught himself a little, the match seemed more balanced. But in phases in which she could have given the duel another turn, the 26-year-old Latvian had no chance against Gauff, who appeared concentrated and consistent. Of course, the local hero still didn’t want to think about the title. “There’s still a long way to go.”