Novak Djokovic beat 12th seed Taylor Fritz of the United States to start his journey towards an unprecedented 11th Australian Open title.
In the first set, Novak Djokovic calmly created eight break points at thirty-one degrees Celsius. But he grew more and more irate when he was unable to convert any of them.
The 26-year-old Fritz nearly took advantage of the visibly upset Djokovic, who was yelling at his backroom staff and constantly applying ice packs.
Djokovic, though, maintained his composure to bounce back and set himself up for a pivotal point in the tie-break.
In an hour and twenty-four minutes, Djokovic seized the lead and won the opening set after Fritz fumbled a volley that would have given him a 1-0 lead.
After the intense sets, the Serbian tennis star won 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-2 6-3 to qualify for the semi-finals in the sweltering heat.
“I suffered a lot in the first couple of sets,” top seed Djokovic, 36, said.
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“I said [to my team] that this match was not an enjoyable match for me at all.
“It was really difficult to find the right timing. It was really hot while the sun was still out.
“We all know Taylor has got one of the best serves in the world. I knew the kind of a threat he poses when he serves on such a high quality.”
Novak Djokovic is attempting to beat Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slams by achieving a 25th one.
He will play against either Italian fourth-seed Jannik Sinner or Russian fifth-seed Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday.
Djokovic is the clear favorite to keep his crown at Melbourne Park, having won 33 straight singles matches there.
