Serbian Novak Djokovic was relieved of abdominal pain and defeated German Alexander Zverev 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-4 and 7-6 (6) at the Australian Open to face the Russian player and the revelation of the tournament Aslan Karatsev.
The world number one reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the ninth time and tied Australian John Bromwich in third place in a standings led by Swiss Roger Federer who has 15 appearances in that court.
Whenever he reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, Djokovic won the tournament.
“I need time to warm up in these conditions. I was very lucky to get that “break” in the third and from there I improved a lot “, he commented after the end of a meeting that lasted more than three and a half hours.
It will be the first time he will face a Karatsev who continued without waking up from the dream he is going through, becoming the first player to reach a semifinal in his debut in the “major” competition.
“I have never seen him play. Very strong physically, he moves very well. He has a great failure “, he warned about the potential of his future rival.