Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic set up a mouthwatering semi-final at the Australian Open after wins at Melbourne Park today.
Djokovic played first in an elongated afternoon session and again looked well short of his best despite recording a 7-6 (7/3) 4-6 6-2 6-3 win over American Taylor Fritz.
Read our other sports news stories here:
Why the Ravens can win the Super Bowl
Australian Open: Day 11, preview and predictions
India v England, first Test: preview and prediction
The world number one, chasing an 11th Australian Open title, struggled with the heat but did enough to advance.
He said: “I suffered a lot in the first couple of sets.
“I said [to my team] that this match was not an enjoyable match for me at all.
“It was really difficult to find the right timing. It was really hot while the sun was still out.
“We all know Taylor has got one of the best serves in the world. I knew the kind of threat he poses when he serves on such a high quality.”
If Djokovic underwhelmed the same cannot be said for Sinner who maintained his impressive form by dispatching fifth seed Rublev 6-4 7-6 (7/5) 6-3.
15 sets played, 15 sets won.@JANNIKSIN sizzles into the #AUSOPEN semi finals with a 6-4 7-6(5) 6-3 win over Andrey Rublev.@WWOS • @ESPN • @EUROSPORT • @WOWOWTENNIS PIC.TWITTER.COM/HR8KGNXWJ1
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) JANUARY 23, 2024
The Italian fourth seed has yet to drop a set in his run to the last four and his only concern here was a possible stomach problem which flared up midway through the match.
Sinner said: “It is obviously very tough to play against Andrey Rublev. We had some very tough matches already in the past. This was three sets but I could have lost both [first and second] sets.
“I’m just really trying to stay aggressive and it went my way.”
Looking ahead to Friday’s clash with Djokovic, he added: “He won here [many] times so it’s going to be tough. The only thing I can control is I’m going to fight for every ball and then we’ll see what happens.”
On the women’s side, there were wins for Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff struggled with her groundstrokes in an error-strewn display against Marta Kostyuk but emerged a 7-6 (8/6) 6-7 (4/7) 6-2 victor to set up a semi-final clash with second seed and defending champion Sabalenka who overpowered Barbora Krejcikova 6-2 6-3.
Aussie Aryna!#AUSOPEN • #AO2024 PIC.TWITTER.COM/PSXJB3VU7O
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) JANUARY 23, 2024
Friday’s clash will be a repeat of last year’s US Open final won by Gauff in three sets.
And the American accepts she will need to raise her game if she wants to advance to the final here.
She said: “I think it was definitely a ‘C’ game – I didn’t play my best tennis but really proud that I was able to get through the match.
“Hopefully I got the bad match out of the way and I can play even better.”
