US Open: Djokovic Reaches Record 47th Grand Slam Semis
At the US Open on Tuesday, Serbian star Novak Djokovic claimed his spot in a record 47th Grand Slam semi-final after beating Taylor Fritz 6-1 6-4 6-4 to stay on course for a fourth US Open title, on the Arthur Ashe stadium court in Yew York, USA.
Fritz had lost all seven career meetings with Djokovic and never beaten a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam but rolled into the quarter-finals in sensational form, the only player to not drop a set and broken only once in 50 service games.
Djokovic wasted no time ending both those runs, breaking the American three times before ending the first set with a booming ace and never took his foot off the gas to claim victory in straight sets.
Fritz converted only two of 12 break chances while committing 51 unforced errors, almost double his opponent’s 26 in the encounter.
Having eliminated Fritz he now finds 20-year-old Shelton standing between him and a 10th trip to the final.
“It’s normal, it’s logical to expect that most of the crowd would support the home player,” said Djokovic. “That’s probably going to be the case on Friday, but I’ll be ready for it.”
“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 on the court.
“It’s really about finding a way to navigate through the match and win a tennis match for me.”
Djokovic is on course for a fourth US Open title that would see him match Margaret Court’s record haul of 24 Grand Slam crowns.
Coco Gauff defeats Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-2
American Coco Gauff warmed up the Arthur Ashe crowd by speeding past Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-2 to become the youngest American to reach the US Open women’s semi-finals since Serena Williams in 2001.
If Gauff is to reach her first US Open final she will need to get past tricky Czech Karolina Muchova, who was a 6-0 6-3 winner over Romanian Sorana Cirstea.
Ben Shelton Beats Frances Tiafoe 6-2 3-6 7-6(7) 6-2
The atmosphere during a night session is always electric but it was dialed up a few notches for Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton.
The match lived up to its blockbuster billing as the big-hitting Shelton hammered his way to 6-2 3-6 7-6(7) 6-2 win, becoming the youngest American to reach the US Open men’s last four since Michael Chang in 1992.
The semi-finals will be an intriguing match-up between two of tennis’s hottest and most creative players.
