Novak Djokovic aces Taylor Fritz test to reach Australian Open semi-final

Novak Djokovic survived another stern test at the Australian Open as he sealed a 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over 12th-seeded American Taylor Fritz on Tuesday and moved into a record-extending 48th Grand Slam semi-final.

The 36-year-old came into the match boasting a perfect 8-0 record against the American, and it seemed business as usual as the Serb edged a gruelling first set that lasted 84 minutes in sultry conditions.

Fritz, 26, had two set points on the Djokovic serve in the 12th game but the Serbian countered them and dominated the subsequent tiebreak to take control.

The top seed left the court after the first set and when he returned he suffered the first break of the match. Fritz, who survived eight break points in the opening set, fought off seven more points during the second set to pull level.

Djokovic finally won a break point at his 16th attempt to take control of the third set and broke again to leave himself one set away from victory.

The Serb broke for the third time in the match in the sixth game of the fourth set when Fritz dumped a forehand into the net. A lucky net cord helped the American break back to stay alive but he double faulted in the following game to hand the initiative back to Djokovic.

"I suffered a lot first couple of sets, also due to his high quality tennis. He was serving well, he was staying close to the line and suffocating me from the back of the court," Djokovic said in an on-court interview with Nick Kyrgios.

Through to an 11th #AusOpen Semi-Final. We'll let you run the numbers, but the 10x champion's strike rate from here is pretty good!@djokernole proves too strong for a gallant Taylor Fritz 7-6(3) 4-6 6-2 6-3@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/Abr5xArz0p

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