Novak Djokovic defeats Taylor Fritz to reach U.S. Open semifinals

In brutally hot conditions, and having just played for two hours, 35 minutes, Novak Djokovic smiled, raised a hand, and led Arthur Ashe Stadium in a sing-along to a Beastie Boys song.

“OK, everybody ready?” he said into the microphone at half court, before singing: “You’ve got to fight for your right to party.”

The crowd, which had more or less been rooting for American Taylor Fritz, complied.

And why not? Djokovic owned Arthur Ashe throughout his 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win, and it made sense that after he won, he’d keep owning it. It made sense, too, that he’d pick the song that played after he sealed his victory: Even at these unparalleled heights, Djokovic has had to fight, and now, as he tries for what would be a record-matching 24th major, the age-defying 36-year-old very much wants to party (eventually).

“I'm trying to enjoy the moments on the court, but there is so much stress and pressure going on that it's hard to have fun, so to say, on the court,” he said. “It's really about finding a way to navigate through the match and win a tennis match for me . . . But off the court, in terms of the actual journey of still being a professional tennis player and going around the world, traveling with my coaching team, you know, we try to keep things light off the court and have fun and enjoy life, because in the end of the day, you have to find that optimal balance.”

Djokovic defeated No. 9 Fritz to go to his 47th grand slam semifinal appearance — breaking Roger Federer’s men’s singles record of 46. He won his third and most recent Open in 2018, and a 24th major victory would match Margaret Court’s record (he already owns the men’s record). The Serbian won the Australian Open this year, and defeated Casper Ruud at Roland Garros. Tuesday, he also became the first man to record 250 wins over Top 10 players in ATP rankings history.  

He’s now the oldest U.S. Open semifinalist since 1991 (Jimmy Connors), and he did it in over 90-degree temperatures (the USTA partially closed the roof for the match, but that did little to combat the humidity).

“We both struggled I think physically a lot, especially in the first set, set and a half,” Djokovic said. “Very humid conditions. Just sweating a lot, you know, reaching the towel basically more or less after every point…But in the crucial moments, I guess I managed to just stay tough and find the right shots, make him play always an extra shot. Make him run.”

Djokovic saved 83% of his break points and had only 26 unforced errors to Fritz’s 51. He won 13 of 17 net points, won six of nine break points, and won 73% of return points against Fritz’s second serves. Fritz tied the final set at 4 and appeared to have Djokovic scrambling, but three unforced errors gave the Serbian an edge. Down 5-4, Fritz eventually backhanded the ball into the net for match point, sealing Djokovic’s victory.

“It's not rocket science,” said Fritz, who was unhappy with his serve. “I'm not going to be able to beat him or hang with him when he just gets to return second serves all day or my first serves are just going to him. I need to serve well. I need to hit spots. I have served well against him in the past, Cincinnati. Today just not the case.”

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.