Top seed Novak Djokovic battled into an 11th Australian Open semi-final and a record-extending 48th at Grand Slams on Tuesday, but a rampant Aryna Sabalenka had a much easier ride.
The Serbian superstar came through a probing test on Rod Laver Arena against 12th-seeded American Taylor Fritz 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to keep his bid for an unprecedented 25th major crown on track.
He will meet in-form Italian fourth seed Jannik Sinner, who swept past Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Djokovic almost always gets the evening slot on centre court, but was bumped to the afternoon on a day on which temperatures soared to 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) and the world number one admitted it was tough going.
“Physically and emotionally very draining,” he said after the three hour and 45 minute epic, adding that he “suffered a lot” in the first two sets.
“He was serving well, staying close to the line and kind of suffocating me from the back of the court,” he said.
“I think I upped my game probably midway through the third set all the way to the end.”
Sinner has been clinical in Melbourne and is yet to drop a set. He also beat Djokovic at the Davis Cup late last year, but the omens are not good for him.
107 unforced errors between them — there were 16 service breaks.
Kostyuk rued missing her chances, letting slip a 5-1 lead and squandering set points in the first set, but said she was proud of how she fought.
“Very proud of myself. I won for myself today, and I think it’s the most important thing,” said the 21-year-old, who has been vocal at the tournament about keeping people’s focus on the conflict in her homeland.
The victory extended Gauff’s winning streak this year to 10 matches after she lifted the title at Auckland in the lead-up, and her unbeaten run at Grand Slams to 12 after her exploits at Flushing Meadows.
AFP
