Novak Djokovic ‘raises the bar’ as he crushes Taylor Fritz to edge closer to another Rafael Nadal record
Novak Djokovic produced a flawless opening set and then lost his way a bit, but he still ended up dealing ninth seed Taylor Fritz a heavy defeat in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner’s 6-0, 6-4 victory over Fritz at the Lindner Tennis Family Center means he is now just two wins away from a record-extending 39th ATP Masters 1000 title – and second in Cincinnati – while he has now reached 75 ATP 1000 semi-finals.
That mark of 75 is just one behind the all-time record of 76, held by Rafael Nadal with the other member of the Big Three, Roger Federer, a distant third on 66 Masters semi-finals.
It was a blistering start from the second seed as he wrapped up the opening set in just 21 minutes, courtesy of breaks in games two, four and six.
But the ninth-seeded Fritz hit back early in the second set with a break in the opening game before Djokovic drew level in game eight. A second break for the Serbian in game 10 secured the win.
“I just managed to get off the blocks really, really strong, played an almost flawless first set,” Djokovic said. “Then I started off really poorly in the second and handed him the break, but from 2-4 down I played really four solid games in the second. Just overall a great performance.”
Just a day after setting a new milestone for the best head-to-head against an opponent by taking his record against Gael Monfils to 19-0, Djokovic moved to 7-0 against Fritz.
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He Serbian added: “That’s something I’m wishing for, that every day I raise the bar slightly more, the level of tennis. That’s what’s happening during the tournament. I played three great matches and each day has been a better feeling on the court overall. So hopefully the same trajectory can continue.”
Djokovic is yet to drop a set in Cincinnati and he will be hoping that run continues in the semi-final when he faces Alexander Zverev. The German booked his place in the last eight with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Adrian Mannarino.
Meanwhile, the battle for the top seed for the US Open looks set to go down to the wire as Carlos Alcaraz is also into the last four. Djokovic, though, can only secure the No 1 ranking again if he wins the title. Alcaraz, who needed three sets to defeat Australian qualifier Max Purcell, will face Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the final.
