MADRID, 5 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic became the first semifinalist of the men’s singles draw of the United States Open on Tuesday, the fourth ‘Grand Slam’ of the season and that is played on hard courts, after losing in three sets (6-1 , 6-4, 6-4) of American Taylor Fritz and set a new career high.
The winner of 23 ‘big’ signed his 47th appearance in a semifinal of a ‘Grand Slam’, surpassing the mark of 46 of the Swiss Roger Federer, 12 of them in Flushing Meadows. He did it thanks to a game that was not overly brilliant, with more forced errors (26) than winners (25), but which he always seemed to have under control, except in the third quarter, which was somewhat ‘crazy’ in his final games.
‘Nole’ needed just over two and a half hours to get rid of the American, seeded ninth and who could only keep up when his powerful serve worked for him. But when he had to play with seconds, he was easy prey for the Balkan, against whom he also paid for his ineffectiveness in his numerous break balls, 12, too much concession against an opponent of the quality in front of him, and his 51 unforced errors.
Fritz did take advantage of his first option to the rest, but it was of little use because Djokovic broke his first three serves and had no problem closing the first set quickly. The still number two in the world broke quickly at the start of the second to take an advantage that helped him to go 2-0 up, with the American wasting a 15-40 and two more breaking balls to have immediately recovered the ‘break’ .
The third set was as even as it was unpredictable in its final stretch. Fritz managed to go ahead on the scoreboard and found himself with a very good option at 3-2, with a 15-40 that he did not take advantage of either. Djokovic punished him with a break in the next game, which already seemed like the end of the duel, but it was prolonged because the American replied with another ‘break’. However, the Serbian did not break down, he broke once more and closed his ticket to the semifinals, although saving another breaking ball from his rival.