Chris Oddo | @thefanchild | Tuesday, September 2, 2025
New York – Novak Djokovic is still 38 years old. On Tuesday night, the highest seeds competed with Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach his 53rd largest semifinal – more than any man or woman in tennis history.
Djokovic said after the game: “It’s one of the days when you just need to grind.
The victory improved Djokovic’s life record against Fritz, reaching an 11-0 flawlessness and joined Jimmy Connors in most U.S. Open semifinals.
Fritz has opportunities – many opportunities – but falters when it matters most. The American failed to switch to his first 10-point breakpoint opportunity, and even at his first break in the second set, he immediately surrendered back to Djokovic via double welfare. The chance of the game slipped and Djokovic snatched the lead in two sets.
“To be honest, the fact that I was 10-10 was almost better for me than I actually because that didn’t count how many times I had after the game, Love-30, 30-All,” Fritz said after the game. “The fact that I was 0-10, it was good.”
The 27-year-old did catch the third set and keep the hope alive, but eventually the nerves bother him again. Fritz saved two match points 4-5 in fourth place, only twice as much in third place, winning Djokovic three hours and 24 minutes later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OxDKGP8QP8
“At the end of the day, this is one of the things that makes great players great,” Fritz reflected. “They won important points, and that’s what I talked about before the game, and it was that I needed to go out and come up with these points. He wasn’t just going to hand them over to me.
For Djokovic, the victory will be a blockbuster semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz, who swept Jiri Lehecka earlier on Tuesday. Djokovic won his last two meetings with the Spaniards and maintained a 5-3 advantage on their head-to-head, but Alcaraz looked cruel in New York, holding 99% of the games in five games and 99% of his games without dropping the game.
At 38, Djokovic sometimes looks vulnerable to Fritz, and he will welcome the luxury of resting two days before Friday’s semi-final showdown.
“I’m not very new at the moment, but hopefully it will be different in two days,” he said. “We’re here. I have another chance, again.”
