MELBOURNE, Australia – Novak Djokovic smashed a rocket, sending a piece of the frame flying. Later, he threw himself right there in the back of the blue yard, looking as disappointed as he could.
He gave up the opening set against Alexander Zverev, one of the young men trying to drive away Djokovic and the rest of the Big Three. Djokovic scored 3-0 in the third. And 3-0 and in the fourth, finally right in front of a set point.
Ah, but that’s what Djokovic, the final competitor, is talking about. And this is Djokovic at the Australian Open, where no one has ever been better. So, naturally, Djokovic united and took the win, reaching the ninth semifinal at Melbourne Park by eliminating No. 5 Zverev 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (6) on Tuesday night. .
Djokovic is approaching a ninth championship in Australia, which would add to his own record for a man. And an 18th overall Grand Slam title, two fewer than rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (who play in the quarterfinals on Wednesday).
Both men wore tape on the middle sections to help with abdominal problems; Djokovic was injured in the third round victory over Taylor Fritz.
This did not stop Djokovic, ranked 1st, from producing 23 aces, including in the final point.
In the semifinals, he will face the surprise of the tournament: Aslan Karatsev, a 27-year-old from Russia, who is in 114th place and had to go through the qualifying rounds just to enter the main draw of a major for the first time .
No one was ever in the final four in his Slam debut, until Karatsev’s elimination with 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2, Tuesday, no. 18, Grigor Dimitrov, who was injured by spasms in the back that made his shoes a chore.
Zverev, the second finalist of the US Open in 2020 and a semifinalist in Melbourne a year ago, once again had problems against the elite competition on the biggest stages. He fell to 0-8 against the top 10 opponents in Grand Slam tournaments; he faces 25-29 such enemies in tournament-level matches otherwise.