Novak Djokovic v Taylor Fritz Full Match | Australian Open 2024 Quarterfinal

and that is some start as well back with just a touch longer on court than Taylor to get to this stage [Applause] 15 and already you get a sense of what today's all about the fritz forehand on the opening point the depth from jovic on the second help 13 [Music] [Music] fitting he is hard to get the ball past isn't he because of his anticipation he's caught speed and 30 C him the AI machine last uh last match against Adrien manarino he was just machine likee and uh tough to win points against even with for a forehand this good I think we'll see Novak hit that two-handed down the line to Fritz his forehand quite often I mean he wants to back away he wants Novak to go AC crosscourt so that he can back away and get the forehand that's where he'll do most of his damage when he has to move this big frame out to his forehand Wing more often I don't think he's quite as effective we saw demon or in Perth give him a hard time there but a lot with the slice down the line it will come as no great surprise to noback Watchers to know that off that second server Fritz nearly 80% of them find the Americans backand and he'll be looking to do that again today this is not a start that Fritz needs or wants joov for me it's important and imperative really that he starts well Fritz here and keeps keeps ahead he's serving first you don't want to get behind in the first set early it's it can set a tone he tended to go faster with his first Ser break point down but a lot slower on his second 10 km down in general in this tournament for Taylor Fritz a massive opportunity here for Novak brilliant from the American well he took the risk didn't he and probably had to but that was FR with some danger there a low percentage shot that he hits perfectly gets out of jail one of the things you have to admire about Fritz his willingness to keep improving in various areas he's not the most comfortable at net but he will push himself to get up there when it's the right time fantastic outcome how's this for [Applause] okay [Music] juice m magnificent you know I've got to admit I thought Novak was coasting there I didn't think he was sprinting full out I thought in the in an instant I thought when I looked at this he doesn't think he can win this point I thought he was coasting a little bit but no how wrong I was what a player please oh my goodness you don't see that too often that ball and that's the height maybe what you talked about Mark the the heat of the day that makes the ball jump a little more fairly new balls here and they're fast and jumpy so might take him a while to get used to that that helped Taylor Fritz there with a second serve the height and the bounce he gets not going to be too new for too much longer almost 10 minutes long this opening game adantage for me so much of the success today potentially for the American revolves around that shot his a percentage stays the same against Novak as it does against the rest of the tour his UNR returned numbers but when it comes back Novak tends to dominate well you don't often see a big serving player or Fritz has a big serving player struggle like this too too much in his opening game this is a little bit telling to his credit he's hanging in there but jovic already giving him a hard time on his service game for [Applause] Advantage PR he's done well in the longer rallies in this opening game Taylor Fritz tends to lose the majority of them against Novak in the past but he's won four of the six that have gone past nine [Applause] shots he's just like a brick wall no back ju did you ever beat the brick wall never bro never beat the brick wall no no me either we've seen those uh shots of the wall that Novak grew up hitting against bullet holes in them but no holes in his defense so far just the one UNR returned serve for Taylor Fritz out of 16 so far it's been a shot FY that he's been working hard on with Michael Russell and Paul anako in the drop shot to change up the pattern and just bring something new to some of these exchanges well they were two perfect shots almost that that forehand opened up the court he played that to Perfection so that's a great asset if he can win points in a different way there and in amongst this epic opening game which is now 12 minutes long a quick shout out once again to tennis Australia for the new policy of allowing fans into the stadium virtually conscious continuously because they would would have been kept out the whole time but it is virtually full again now Advantage than [Applause] he totally mishit that didn't he he was there he was there it wasn't that difficult these These are the balls Novak wouldn't miss [Applause] that g just chopped straight down the back technique wasn't good enough didn't open the face enough and follow through to the Target but he's probably breathing hard I mean 14 minutes it's Opening Service game there's pressure on him here it was open you can see there noakes almost couldn't believe he missed that one quarter and out gone not even a game played Ju and the first state in the Western World state of Victoria to introduce the safety belt strap yourself in Fitzy could be here a while it's illegal if you don't put it on by the [Music] way Advantage [Music] Prince just the second return He has missed out of 23 in this opening game what a hold serve for Taylor pritz what a Triumph early on and one man that's going to be absolutely thrilled about that is fellow American Nick Monroe Courtside I was going to bring you on after the first game didn't realize I was going to leave you hanging for 16 minutes uh guys I got to say I mean 16 minutes in you know I'm sitting here with an umbrella above my head and I got beads of sweat running down my face so I got to let you know Taylor Fritz that that was miserable for Taylor Fritz and I feel like for Novak he absolutely loves those kinds of rallies I mean he was making every return deep in the court and you know that that's what Novak does he makes you just play so many long rallies and you you know if you're Taylor fritz or any opponent you have to play at such a high level for such a long time to beat this guy and you know I was able to speak with Taylor's coach Michael Russell last night and I said hey what what's your game plan going in he said well Taylor's got to be patient but he's also got to play aggressive and look for the right opportunity to come forward be a little bit unpredictable and we'll see how unpredictable he can be uh against Noak tonight [Music] today as much as uh he likes to support he does like to problem solve himself Taylor Fritz you can hear marike Russell in the the microphone on the side of the Court keep it up keep it up maybe he Taylor had suggested to him gee is every game going to be that tough he has no choice he has to keep it up to have a chance just struggling a little bit with something he was uh stretching his back out in that opening game towards the end of it and you could see there with his left arm well one of the good things for Taylor Fritz I was speaking with his trainer Wolf Gang Oswald earlier today and and Taylor had kind of rolled his ankle in his first round and end up getting through that in five sets but he did say now his ankle 100% but we so we're seeing him move extremely well so it looks like he's ready to go now come on not a chance I would as a coach encourage someone to hit that hav work with someone as good as that no that's true this is an incredible shot look how far back he is he plays that off the back foot behind the Baseline and drills it just over the net with backspin shots that just hit different I normally don't like guys with this much talent you know that's why you feel comfortable with me me good point but that was pure talent right there so not his more ordinary cousin skill that's just pure talent is that not a shot you can learn is that something that you almost have given what that drop hit uh you can try to learn it but you'd probably want to practice it for 3 years straight 36 years 36 years but you know I practiced my serve for 30 years and that didn't go anywhere so you've got to have the you've got to have the nouse the ability the genius to hit it y hey guys just a little something I'm recognizing right now no jovic he was coughing in between first and second serve uh in his service game there and you know he hit that drop shot from behind the Bas line and he kind of looked a little weary and I know it's early on in the match but he's uh you know kind of taken a lot of time in between points just you know something to keep an eye on he's got his towel on his head right now and you know he hasn't played a day match here in in quite a long time so this heat might affect him let's keep an eye on it well he hasn't been feeling well came into the tournament of course with the wrist problem but that seems to have subsided although we did get a little bit of a look at it in the poer in second round but the cold that he's been carrying has probably been the biggest obstacle for him to overcome had 15 consecutive night matches didn't he know that before that match with manarino but it was a fairly cool day this was one of the hottest days he's played in for a while here in Melbourne well it was indoors in fact yeah so it was a rainy day they closed the roof you played it as an indoor match and so there was no stress no elements heat no sun [Applause] you might have some work to do down there though Nick I mean he he is chatting already to his box isn't he and sometimes that provides a little bit of entertainment I'm glad Goran is out of the sun though he was looking a bit red there in this Australian Sun and the best player in the world shows why anticipation defense and then the diagonal Dagger of a back hand that just took Fritz off the court he's created some angle hasn't he he's talking to someone in the TV back there could be Jim cuer yeah Novak actually just looked in the ESPN booth and and looked at curios and said get out here so uh just yeah something keep an eye on with with Novak he's got his hand on his hip right now breathing a little heavy 13 14 his body language certainly isn't normal is it but he he he quite often is like this there's been a lot of times over his career when you look at him you think gee there's something wrong with him today but he finds a way out of it either he's yeah he feels a bit off color but give him time Advantage Prince yeah because of the power that Fritz has on that four and it does create a lot of space in the four court and he's finally exploring it with those Drop shots and that is a massive hole for the American from love 40 down two onead by two games jovic already going Nick to the the ice pack and it doesn't look by my weather out that the heat in the air is going to go out much before sort of 8:00 tonight so he is going to have to deal with this yeah you're right I mean you know like I said I've got an umbrella above my head and I'm completely sweating right now on my head but uh but for Noak you know look he he definitely looks like he's feeling it he's already got the ice towels and towels on his on his lap holding his ear so you know Taylor also you know that's not the kind of first game that he wants to play but you know Taylor's one of those guys who completely believes in himself and he's going to believe he's got a chance even if he is 0 and8 time 14th quarterfinal for novat jovic in the beautiful city of Melbourne and on the previous 13 visits to this particular stage he has won 10 times up against a man today that has six titles picked up a couple last year outdoor on the hard courts did Taylor Fritz in Atlanta and Del re but notably again since the past picked up his first ever top 10 win at a grand slam he had been 0 for 11 against the very best at this particular type of tournament but the win against tiip pass started moving that particular stat in the right direction for [Applause] him but he has never beaten a world number one the good news for a player lock Taylor Fritz is that he has a big game and if you possess a big game you can shake a lot of players I mean if you if you have a a rebounding sort of counter punching type game against novaka you basically don't have a chance but at least if you have a big game something that can hurt or a few weapons that can hurt the opposition you're always in a match well Fitzy yeah you got to you nailed the coffin on their head there you know when I was speaking with Michael Russell he said another thing they want to do is you know again staying patient but when he changes directions he wants him to commit you talk about the big game that he has he can play extremely big but definitely when he goes down the line he wants him to commit to that and not just guide it because if you guide it no back's going to have you on a string good guy that Michael Russell yep if you create an angle like that you you're going to win a a fair percentage of points 15 we've seen Novak do that a couple of times already in this [Music] match just sometimes Phil Taylor gets a little of balance on his back hand when he tries to really generate pace and then takes an extra step out and then ends up just being a little later back into the middle of the Court which Novak exposes fine margins yeah you called that perfectly you saw it in that replay he went wide and then just got caught it opens the court up if there's a slight delay in the movement back to the middle [Music] yeah you guys are right Taylor doesn't often use an open stance backand he typically goes with a right foot across and he's able to go down the line and crosscourt with both of those but you'd like to see him kind of be able to also develop an open stance backand well he's like a surgeon though isn't he Novak he he just found a way there in the last two points to open up the court he gets Fritz way off the court and that hard flat ball that goes back so quickly gives him no time to recover well the other thing that Michael Russell was talking about with the ATP today was how to try and sort of get on to Novak's second serve well he's had a lot of looks at his second serve in those opening couple of games Novak making just a couple of first serves very below the sort of normal numbers he's going to be making but has backed it up winning six out of eight of the second serve points so the American hasn't been able to make imrs as [Applause] yet [Music] f yeah you're you're definitely right there petch on the return and again one thing Russell was talking about on the serve was I said look there any locations you want to serve to because in the past used maybe used to be able to serve to noack's forehand and that might have been the weaker side but he said no no we really want to mix it up because obviously noak's the best returner in the game so you got to keep him off balance by different variations [Music] [Applause] 1 15 14% since September 2013 Novak has taken on American male players 41 times and he has lost just once wonder if Nick Monroe can name the one loss I'll give him this change over to think about it tor pritz with a second Ace of that game holding a lot more comfortably 3-2 opening set [Applause] to [Music] well that was the uh perfect antidote wasn't it for Taylor Fritz after a couple of very tough service games for him he's managed to ease his way through that one just dropping the one point and he will feel as though he is very much in this match right now doesn't lack belief and coming from California he perhaps won't mind this heat quite as much at this particular stage of the day as the rod lab Arena convertible has its roof open and a very good chance the day session will become part of the night session too we're back Nick you know what's so funny is I was sitting right here right next to Chris Eubanks and we were both trying to figure it out so you definitely stumped us but but one thing I do know is you know he has a 33 consecutive match win streak in Australian Open and it started with an American by the name of Mitchell Krueger in 2019 so I sent that to Krueger today and he was laughing and said yeah it all started with me that's it's all because of me that he has this great run but who who beat him I'm not sure uh Pat you're going to have to Enlighten us Sam query at Wimbledon on the grass back in that's right that was that was a massive I mean Sam served massive that match yeah he played extremely well yeah pickle ball Sam as he's now known he sure is if you haven't checked out his Instagram check it out it's pretty hilarious with the pickall stories Novak serving at 23 opening set up 15 one of the big changes that Taylor Made Back in 2022 was to uh drop a little deeper on the first serve return that's obviously an area that he was looking to improve seres always magnificent drop deeper added about 8ks in terms of speed driving through the returns but you may have seen Novak use the slice so effectively against Manar and already at the start of this match introduce it a fair bit that's because Taylor out of the world's top 50 sits joint last in terms of using his own slice back and that's what Novak's looking for is to try and force him to hit those tots spin balls off a nothing Pace shot down low might want to use it bit more that was a beautiful one at the start of that rally mhm yeah that's one thing you know he's been working on a lot for Taylor is is a sliced backand he knows it kind of floats a little bit he's been trying to knife it a little bit more but yeah Taylor in any backhand crosscourt rally backs himself against anyone in the world except maybe Novak so this be interesting to see if he decides to change that go down the line with it a little bit more often [Music] [Applause] 14 for those of you that like to get granular with how these players play the other person that he sits joint last with is somebody you're going to see tonight who doesn't use the backand slice that often and it's the Italian Yanik sinner [Applause] joov both players have warmed up nicely on serve three a piece as long as in this heat there's not a fine line between warmed up and worn out that's what we that's what we don't want I think they'll both be fine it's not that hot I mean I know it's hot sitting down there Nick but it but compared to what it can be here uh it's quite bearable I think I mean there's there's a breeze isn't there yeah compared to what it can be but the the issue is we the players haven't played in this kind of heat since they've been here in Melbourne so this is completely new new territory yeah yeah good point you Taylor Fritz on his day off yesterday he just hit for 30 minutes and and michae Russell said it was a very light hit just kind of rolled the arm over a few Ser few returns but they did do a few extra Drop shots uh just to try to keep Nole off balance so let's see how many hits today he usually has no problem up there service motion very good smash Novak got a little sort of negative here that was a mish hit and this was a bit of an ordinary shot too just another Mish hit that dropped it short he was he was instantly in trouble when that happened 13 15 14 10 it's a good serve isn't it is so easy looks like a serve like this you could you could do this for four or five hours without much stress 14 1 quality of Novak's returns into the backand side of Taylor compared to other players on the tour just puts a lot of stress on that first serve you're absolutely right it is effortless the Americans serve oh he's landed another glorious for hat high risk but plenty of reward there for Taylor Fritz 43 leads by four games to three Mick you're probably a little bit more in tune with this did as we see tayor running across here look at how strong that grip is did uh did Morgan do the vegie might promise you know what he was supposed to send me the video yesterday so I think it did happen uh he hasn't sent it to me yet but I I I'll get some proof I'll get some proof but because he said he was going to make sure that it happened uh but would you do it petch what do you think pet you might yeah absolutely you know it was made here in Victoria it's one of the great inventions of uh of this wonderful State okay nice what is there peanut butter in Australia as well is there any of that or come on Nick vam Auto nothing come on I love it I love it I've got confirmation that she has does it I haven't seen the video evidence but uh apparently it's been done she holds up her end of The Barking it's been a lot to enjoy in these opening seven games some chances on both sides of the net but both have settled in to this quarterfinal hot day here in melbour but certainly not the hottest the hottest all the way back in 1906 I know we like to think that we're having the hottest time of our lives but back in 1906 the state of Victoria 50.6 on the Mercury scale pretty warm day yeah I remember I played here one year uh I believe it was 2017 and we got pulled off of the Court um you know it's about 115 F and guys were cramping and it it was brutal so this isn't nearly as hot as that but definitely hot only because it hasn't been that way throughout the week for for these guys [Applause] 15 well on a warm day like this uh notice I didn't say hot Mark it's really important I think to get the first point on the board and it sort of sets the tone if you're trying to break serve and you don't get that first one oh gee you know this going to be a big physical effort now here the great return so now now you can have a crack again if you're Taylor Fritz you might feel mentally a bit more in this game and uh if you get ahead in it it really does give you sort of an opening an inch of daylight so to speak to to make a physical effort you get behind in these games it's harder to get the energy levels up I think a great approach he's a complete player isn't he I mean you go to hit the slice and you can't just hit it anywhere in the Box straight to that forehand you you've got to do something offensive with it and that comes with the length within a third of a meter probably of that Baseline makes it awkward to pass clever player well I'm interested to see how well Taylor Fritz holds up physically you know he didn't have that long of a preseason he played an EXO in maau December 3rd through 6 then went to Abu Dhabi at the end of December for a few days December 21st through 24th and so the week before Melbourne week before this tournament started they had a preseason week here did he and Russell about three and a half hours a day between tennis and Jim for seven days to get ready for this kind of heat and this kind of matchup 14 1 well he's the type of player that one day I don't know I don't know if it's today one day soon you'd expect him to break through this quarterfinal barrier and then with a big game like this you'd expect anything could happen well the body serve set that up straight at the body short return onew Punch Yeah and he's given him a a pretty varied diet on that second serve on the outside isn't he at the moment those quick ones down the te that we know Novak likes to hit particularly on the break points down Taylor was ready for that he wasn't ready ready for the body serve he won't give him too many off Pace kickers out wide to that backand that no backand return from Taylor is very strong why wouldn't you go more at the body along arms you know get him to tangle himself up a little bit that was a perfect serve there love to talk about taking time away from opponents don't we but just watch Noak there on such a massive Point as you've been talking about the reasons why Fitzy in the ninth game of this opening set he went at least 2 and A2 M behind his Baseline he was just happy to absorb pressure and wait for the error yeah look out look out T guys I mean how early did he take that second sery return and then just put it right on the Baseline inside out I mean you know taking time away patch amazingly there on that return just so much Pace on it and Taylor just couldn't get it [Applause] 15 1 yeah well he went after that second serve a little bit towards the body too and used the tactics in Reverse there if he has plenty of time on that forehand it's it's lethal [Music] I me noat just done an amazing job of returning this serve at the moment I mean Taylor came into this with over 40% of his serves un return for the tournament it's at 20% right now he is having to work so hard to protect his serve hasn't been able to break on the opening six that he's had you see the intensity there though 1 guys it seems like he's serving quite a few balls to the forehand you know I feel like after a while noak's going to get a beat on that and he'll have to go a few more to the backhand but right now when he's going to the forehand Noak seems to be right on it well he held a 15 or 16 minute game in the first game of the match and this one just as important he's done well there can he hold on [Applause] come advantage and back to the forand got a shortest reply his heart would have been in his mouth as that lob sailed over his head but traveled too long just sometimes like to see Taylor use his feet in those moments to get his for and into play it wouldn't have taken much I mean that could be a little fatigue already creeping in just not not wanting to get around that ball quite quite yet keep it simple with the backhand and then wait for the right forehand it's a shot that he needs to risk on isn't itage I mean that's his best ground stroke if he gets set here he needs why not go for it best chance to win the point here and have a day out on that forehand that can make a big big difference here give him an opportunity another very gritty hold from Taylor Fritz 54 frz leads by five to that is just going to infuse him with a little more belief that he's been able to scramble to safety saving eight break points in this opening set so far as for Novak he's going to be quite happy I think as he sees that shadow continue to drift across this court won't be too long now before it's actually all in shade and despite the heat in the air it will definitely get a little bit cooler just regardless because of [Applause] that Taylor still looking for his first ever last for visit Adam major Novak of course has had at least 10 or more at all four of the majors 13 as his most in New York he's had a dozen semi-finals reached at both Roland garos and Wimbledon and looking for his 11th today here in Melbourne it's [Applause] astonishing played over 100 matches at all four majors experience on his side today no question and in the Rivalry with Taylor Fritz but not the scoreboard currently Fritz leading 5-4 hey guys uh just wanted to ask you a question are you guys can you figure out when Novak has the hat on and hat off because on this side he had the Hat on in the beginning of the match and it cuz the sun was to the right and so I felt like he was using that for the sun then he took it off on the other side but now he's got his hat off on the side that he had it on so just kind of a lot of different routines he's going through right now it was definitely from this end at the start of the match 15 [Applause] oh f well knowing how Street Smart no joov is on a tennis court he knows also that the shadow is coming so it's warm now he's just got to get through this period preferably wins this first set in his mind and conditions will cool down it might take a bit longer to get to Nick on the side of the Court unfortunately for you mate but the the shadow is coming and it will cool down Nick's a tough guy anyway you know braving it out guys braving it out just like you guys great Tennant out here oh jeez hit two loose ones this game that's dangerous two loose ones the drop shot and the second point and look at the opportunity in Taylor Fritz's eyes now oh what a waste that is is's a huge waste from Taylor Fritz I mean you've got a sense when Novak is just stumbling slightly by his standards he gets a second serve that was when he needed to use every ounce of energy he had I think it was a change of pace on that second serve because the last second serve he had on this ad side he went really big about 178 I believe and on this side he went 152 so changing the pace is Big Time on second serve is affecting Taylor Y what could have been there for Taylor Fritz has dissipated five games [Applause] off just wonder whether he was in two minds about whether he should have run around that second serve on the due side at 30 or because we've been seeing him just knocking back hands into court and that was one of the rare times that he actually did try and move to forehand well if you listen to Michael Russell and he says he's got to take his chances he's got it that was a forehand all day for me and and it's his best shot he had time and maybe it was the pace that threw him slightly but that was a ball he just had to make the juice one second serve nevertheless oh that's that's first class and ironically he's he's actually made on a couple of big occasions one was a break point and then this one here made extraordinary backend winners not considered his better side 14 left and he's either have to sa great points or he's kind of cruised through his service games Taylor Fritz big Delta between the two 65 opening set never beat Novak never taken the opening set off Novak as well so the next 5 10 15 minutes who knows depending on how long some of these epic games have taken and will take in this opening set could decide a lot today his attention to detail is uh legendary although it would appear that there is something that is missing right now from uh noak's bag Novak desperate to get the attention of his team uh for whatever is not in his bag at that particular change over saw him getting some gel out and there are the men in the hot SE in that particular Department it is demanding isn't it being in that box yeah as you said guys he's just such attention to details big for Novak and he said something he said jaw about as loud as he could and and I'm trying to think of the tournament where that happened later in the year last year where again that same thing something wasn't in his bag the team had to go get it and uh yeah that that can't happen if your team know back especially in these conditions oh well guys there's the drop shot that Michael Russell said they were working on yesterday the short one inside out from the backhand side and using it in a key moment like that is impressive from [Applause] Fritz thank you 15 f [Music] there was beforeand I wanted two games ago to set up the point doesn't mean he's going to win the point at all he had to really play high level Point here to win but at least it got him into the into the point and uh gave him a chance to do this he's not without a chance here now 15 14 what a passage of play this has been from Taylor Fritz Taken full control of this particular game introduces the ball to the line and himself to a couple of set points thank you please ladies and gentlemen [Applause] 1 pure perfection to save the first of the two set [Applause] points the definition of clch in 2021 I saw Taylor Fritz lead two sets to love against Novak and it looked for all money like he was going to beat him that that day which turned into a bit of night in the First Co year here and I just had a little recollection of that then in 1540 but jovic to his credit is eternal Credit in clutch situations comes through and particular when you think he was serving under 40% first serves in prior to those couple of set points has dropped the speed to make sure he made them credit to [Applause] him but it may just be enough for the world number one to drag himself into a tie break please f well guys if I'm Taylor Fritz here from 1540 all the way to get back to Deuce here the four serves in a row to Taylor Fritz's forehand so as a returner you got to start looking and see what are the Tendencies of your opponent and so so far Novak jokovic is going into the forehand Wing when he needs a point [Applause] and that's one of the downsides from standing so far out wide isn't it that he can drop in a fairly comfortable 176k first serve as you can see and it kind of keeps going away from Taylor how did he manufacture that angle yeah that was a big swing he looked for for all money like he was going to be down the set there y he looked a little more gone than go at that particular stage but he is absolutely the goat when it comes to tiebreakers the best ever thank you and there's the reputation tax you [Applause] pay yeah what's the name of the game guys make one more ball that's exactly what no back does and Taylor Fritz in his preseason week before this Australian Open he was doing 30 minute Versa climber sessions with his coach Michael Russell so let's see if the fitness pays off in this tiebreaker and throughout this match two zero joov 3 Taylor last season played a lot of tiebreakers as you would expect for somebody that serves as well as he does he won 26 lost 17 which is not the greatest ratio Novak last year w31 lost eight yeah making play the extra ball again and again what a turnar around this [Applause] isov yeah and I think that's the tricky part right when you work on your drop shot you also have to work on what happens after you hit the drop shot and Taylor Fitz's grip just wasn't able to where he could get under that next ball yeah well pick Nick that it is so extreme anything low and short when it bounces up like that last one he's fine but you're putting all your joov eggs in one basket aren't you with that extreme grip if you're moving forward to a low ball [Applause] spe 5 and that's the thing about no I'm sure you've seen it Nick and maybe you've even been on the court with him but even the warm-ups the little drills he does that game where he bounces it down into the court and moves so much of his preparation is all around moments like that where he has to finesse it yeah you're completely right patch I mean you know those little intangible shots right like you know Taylor hit a good drop shot he got drop shoted back but then he's never really worked on what happens when I come up in the court like that but that's why Novak works on those little short angles everything from the service line moving forward those little games turn into big pressure moments you being able to be ready for them f the best produces his best 61 and before he even hit the drop shot he knew what he was looking to do to pick off frit of the net yeah I think he also knows Taylor's tendency with short back hands Taylor always goes crosscourt Novak was there before Taylor even hit the ball from having saved set points he has five in a row 6 to [Applause] jich six GRE [Music] [Applause] jovic joov nine times he's taken on jovic nine times he's lost the opening set the world number one is up by one set to [Applause] left love for love 30 [Applause] 15 [Applause] 1 oh if Novak serves that well on the second ball is hard to really make many inroads anyway we saw Taylor there hit a pretty good forehand but it it didn't put him or give him the upper hand in the rally early so yeah the second serve was good only 140 but directed really well and he does have that wide fast last one up each sleeve as [Applause] well [Applause] juice kind of feel as though he's hit a little bit of a flat spot at the moment Novak and he's just trying to kind of rile himself up [Applause] Advantage I I got to say though one thing it's easy sitting up here I haven't played a set in the heat but sometimes the tennis the modern tennis is just agonizingly slow isn't it I mean it's it's incredibly high standard but we're an hour and 36 minutes into this match yes guys how big was that second serve 190 km hour after Double faulting I mean no margin for error either when I'm looking at the net it barely cleared the net to go over but just trust in a serve but he is barking at his team these last three points absolutely it was almost like he was trying to indicate somebody to leave he wanted somebody to get out of his box [Applause] Advantage Prince [Applause] can't tellor for it to get out of the gates quickly at the start of this second seemingly dropping even deeper the American for this first [Music] serve it's a flying start for Fritz and the double FS costly for the world number one first game second yeah guys you nail that right on the head PCH how far Taylor Fritz went back behind the Baseline to return that serve and you know that just changes up the Rhythm from Noak as far as the timing of balls coming back and then Taylor grit's completely taking ADV bandage coming to the net here at the Finish but you know his energy has been the same throughout this match Taylor Fritz he hasn't gotten two up two down he's been the same and for Novak let's see now that when he's close to his team let's see if the Barking continues even more looked as though he was going to get himself out of the hole that he had built for himself down love 30 with some quality first serves wasn't to be what sort of reaction will that opening game provoked from the world number one 15 right now he's he's not happy but he's probably relieved on the inside about that first set result because if he hadn't have turned the tables there this might have been a more serious situation certainly a bit aggravated though isn't he 15 yeah you know it's funny when he was on the other side of the Court he was staring at them for four point straight over to his box and now he's on this side of the Court he hasn't even looked at them once so maybe now that he's down a break he knows he needs to lock in now 30 [Applause] for let's [Applause] 13 it's not as seductive as a winner that backhand but it is equally productive 14 [Music] [Applause] 1 it's just amazing he actually made the two shots just and not just made them made them to a length which just put pressure on Taylor fretz yeah I mean no back jokovic he's looking like Gumby out here I mean seeing the flexibility and dexterity that he's got it's just incredible wellage a little bit disastrous wouldn't it if uh if this break of serve goes back the other way against Taylor Fritz from his point of view he's got himself into a position where he can stay within touch with a break in hand Mo back 0 for n on break points advantage [Applause] couple of bases back to back consolidate the break great Aces number seven and eight for the match for the American oh guys the closer Noak gets to me and I'm I've been staring right at him you know I've seen a lot of Sniffles from Noak um you know that definitely doesn't seem like he's 100% yet over that cold and he's definitely been sniffling quite a lot so I'll keep an eye on it see how he's feeling Tyler Fritz winning a lot of those pressure points the 30 All Points the juice points not just the break points of course please especially between first and second 15 [Applause] 11 30 [Applause] left love well he wanders in behind the serve it wasn't really a serve and volley Taylor Fritz has done a bit of the hard work at the start of this second set by taking the break leads 21 can I yeah same same T wants the stick restr he's planning to be around for a while interesting sort of uh game that and obviously a look Novak with the towel over his head at the moment and that was when he was in the opening set just calling for some food refreshments and that was after the double F where he was bitterly disappointed that was something we're unsure about but he is agitated there's no question and those Serbian fans will just be a little concerned about the state of the mind of the world number one for the time being back here in Melbourne the home of sport of course so many uh wonderful different sporting codes in this particular part of the world a very special prominade of course home to the Olympic Games First Southern Hemisphere City here in Melbourne to host the Olympic Games and that all the way back in 1956 well guys that last change over no jokovic had the ice towel around his neck Taylor Fritz did not so it seems like Taylor is completely fine with with the heat and what's happening right now no back body temperature maybe a little bit high so he's trying to cool down and not only that after time was called nov back stopped there for about another five or six seconds and the chair looked at him and he just kind of looked at her as if what are you going to do and then he then he finally got up and uh got to work 13 15 can be a little difficult to gauge great players in these moments and great you're just never quite sure what's going through their mind they are geniuses and they see things very differently they motivate themselves in very different ways well he's not showing any energy at the moment here at all is he so he's having a rest period here in this match that opening break and then the the saving of the break point from Taylor Fritz was pretty important it might just let him roll through this second set I think we can expect something different in the third if that happens but but he is in second gear right now not running on 8 cylinders no back 15 [Applause] 11 1 [Applause] L 14 left joov or maybe the Titanic opening set has taken a little bit out of both of them or Fritz just not wanting to give jovic any rhythm at the moment but as he has the lead 3-2 to the American yeah it's it necessary to have the light so strong while he still G I mean they so strong is it really necessary CU we' seen we see just F so just asking there whether the light should be on it it's probably a valid question really I guess I mean it's a bright day there's no problem with seeing the ball down there and maybe they're on in Readiness for the evening session I don't know how long actually don't know how long they take to to warm up once they go off so now they asking the question is they seem to bother him a little bit yeah look down here at Fort leville I mean the lights don't need to be this at this moment it's definitely uh bright enough but hey here we are with the lights on yeah they're just swapping bottles over here at the moment and getting it out Noak who's uh clearly feeling the effects of the heat is never not dramatic against Taylor here is it when he tore his abdomen that right abdomen when he was playing against Taylor back in 2021 we also of course had the Slightly bizarre situation that the fans had to leave because of quarantine rules at midnight from the rod lab Arena which was a very awkward Affair Taylor was a bit disappointed he got distracted in that one by everything that went on let let's first so his energy level looks back a fraction there Nick I'm not sure whether love it's just the first point of the game and and he figures if he can get ahead here he'll put in a physical effort but his body language is a little better now yeah it's definitely a little bit better and as I said it's even dropped another couple degrees from where we were even 10 minutes ago so it's definitely gotten cooler and I think that helps is helping no back big time but not only that I mean the greatest know when to step up when it's time to step up and being down a break right now this the time to try to get a break back 15 [Applause] 1 [Music] go and that's the hardest part for tler thre that massive grip change he tried to get it in the right place it just didn't well I think it's unfair to call it a flaw but but the grip change works for his forehand and that's his biggest weapon but it doesn't have the versatility when he moves forward yeah and he and he also knows even if he comes in is very low but even if he tries to come over that the the margin for error is just so small I mean he's going to have to really get under it but as you said that those intangibles is what needs to be worked on in this game for sure yeah and he he hit that on the frame Nick it didn't even get on the strings and also when you look at him he puts his left foot down as a break it's very hard to hit that with no body weight kind of helping you he wants to almost just hop forward off that and allow it to kind of to take it over the net to feather it from there is extremely difficult but the serve bails him out of the first break point he did well there though by Novak yeah and he applauds him I mean Novak hit a great return to get the upper hand in the rally and followed it with a great forehand and that was the result he hit that forehand Fritz to get back in the point and finishes it that was one heck of a turnaround there in that particular point to save the break this is a big game for it well guys it was interesting on the 1540 Point Taylor Fritz went wide at the forehand Novak looked at his team and the team seemed to tell him like Hey look for your forehand look for your forand on the return and the last two serves Taylor's gone to the backand so he's definitely confusing jovic out here right now Fritz meets by four games to finest joke in Fritz's repertoire gets him out of trouble and just a couple of games away from squaring up this quarterfinal oh well again he made the the effort to get there with leg speed Taylor but when he got there there was very little feel yeah I mean I think look that the best shot for me when somebody Drop shots you to try to drop shot it in front of you bring your opponent forwards he give him less angle but yeah he doesn't really have much feel when he has to run up and get that drop shot you know something that's not going to affect the outcome of this match but they meant to start the evening session here in 15 minutes at Melbourne Park that the day session has gone excruciatingly long get rid of the shot clock I say thir but you know the players are so used to taking so long between points now and they watch the the shot clock and matches are are just taking so long these days let's it's okay to criticize organization but the rules are out of their hands the rules allow these matches to go so long oh there is nothing better than watching a drop shot that just simply robs the ball of its bounce and that was as delicate as they can look at this he has that disguise where he's able to play with both hands on the racket so it looks as though it's going to be a driven back hand some twoh handers they put the uh the non-playing hand right at the top the non-dominant hand and you kind of know it's going to come Novak doesn't it has perfect disguise as that serve had perfect placement and this second set is still all to play for but as much as the lack of heat that is uh sort of coming into the stadium now it's still going to help Taylor Fritz as well I mean it's no nobody feels that comfortable playing in the heat it's also going to give him a little bit of boost to be able to put in a little extra burst of energy on his own service game yeah yeah yeah [Music] yeah the good thing for Taylor is look I I've played doubles with him quite a lot and he always talked about how much he loves playing in the Heat and he's never cramped before um you know that really has affected him and so he's like look put me in the Heat against anybody and I'll be ready the big start of course so far in this match is jovic's inability to break Taylor Fritz having carved out 11 break points I think I make it only once in a completed match that Novak hasn't broken in a best of five that was against late H US Open 2006 five break points for Novak didn't get the break against Leon in that particular match so Taylor has to expect at some time that his serve will get broken but so far for over two hours NOC has been yet to break the American done a good job as well Taylor using his backand down the line to force Novak to go forehand cross to get his forehand back into play occasionally he's tried to go toe to- toe and uh he's been good in that department but he's been very quick to redirect in some of these Baseline rallies but you have to quick across the Baseline to get there 30 no back not flinging himself at as many serves in this set seven Aces already for Taylor perhaps more importantly over double the number of serves not coming back we were highlighting just how well Novak was returning that serve not giving Taylor any free points well normal service has been resumed for the American lots of cheap points in this second set let's person [Music] 30 [Applause] on well I hope you haven't put the mozer on him Mark we jinxed him in your [Applause] language look at the Quick Step now it's funny isn't it he just senses it jovic he's another opportunity to get back in this set oh what a falling that could easily have gone out with a with the angle of his ret face yeah that was a great volley you know after that approach shot I was thinking to myself oh no because you know Noak is such a great passer and Taylor Fritz got on top of the net there was holding the racket actually with two hands when I was looking at him finally last minute took the took the left hand off Picture Perfect though moving forward I think Nick was holding his breath down there we know noak's got all the weapons Advantage [Applause] [Applause] Jo let's first Serv [Applause] go that is just magical how did he conjure up that angle yeah nothing but admiration there for Taylor Fritz he a couple of times here was under the pump to stay in this rally kept himself in it with that forehand down the line and then this was hard to see him making wasn't it yeah that ball that cross par almost bounced twice it was so low and I mean the Taylor crit just out Fox the fox that was incredible oh you can tell it one but maybe not [Applause] twice o for 13 on break [Applause] points and he's got him again astonishing courage well we don't see it as his best ground strike but it's actually saved him on several occasions hasn't it tonight great points particularly Having the courage of his [Applause] convictions [Music] [Applause] please I mean the three returns that he has made on that je side had been right under the shoelaces of Taylor Fritz Immaculate returning and he is biing his [Applause] time that's still there's no way through Fritz knew what was coming trademark return to the back hand but this vintage shot from Fritz it's the old Bull and the younger bull here going head to-head [Applause] well I think a good choice in the end he'd been to the back end most of the time here in this in this game and that returns were within a meter and a half of the Baseline so I think a good change up he had to go there eventually Fritz to that forehand Wing well that was one heck of an effort there wasn't it yeah that was impressive stuff and and again I prac Taylor Fritz quite a lot and that backhand down the line is one of his trademark shots he can literally put it on a dime Michael Russell a lot of times just puts like put a tennis ball down as his Target and you'll see Taylor Fritz either hit the ball or be well within hitting it and uh yeah that's Sav been big time there and we're in a battle it's important to do it on the practice court it's even harder though to do it out here in Novak's house as we are one minute shy from the evening session getting underway which will be significantly delayed tonight it's going to be a late night in Melbourne the only bit of good news for C and rev of course is that we are playing on Tuesday they will end up finishing you would imagine probably on Wednesday but they will have until Friday to recover [Applause] 15 up 15 [Applause] 1 40th winner 1 did I just see that what I want to know is does that go down as a ser and volley on the stats yes it does guys what just happened there have a look at this again I mean say say what Nick do you know if that was actually going out no I was it was going in but you know I mean noak's just ready for anything that's why he's the goat joov last chance for Novak to salvage this second set Taylor will serve for one set a piece what an instinctive save that was from Novak off a return that was potentially going to set up a set point for Taylor Fritz and would have put him out of the agony of potentially trying to serve this out some little problem there with the left foot of Taylor there nick uh you know that was the left ankle that that Wolf Gang his physio was saying that he rolled in his first set first round match and uh he said look but he's 100% now he's not feeling it at all so yeah that could be interesting to see he was just looking at Wolf Gang and and I was trying to read his lips but he is feeling it and uh let's keep an eye on it time perfect weather and magnificent crowds here and this is host to where we are the rod La Arena as we dive back in at this absolutely crucial stage of of the second set Taylor frz yet to be broken in the match looking to try and serve it out he did have his shoe off at that change of ends he had a little bit of a problem in his opening round with that left ankle has the physical toll potentially caught up with the American number one certainly hope not long way to go from here a lot of Runway ahead if he is going to get through into the first semi-final of a major of his [Applause] career [Applause] thank you you know I was actually texting with Taylor's physio just four games ago and kind of asking hey what do you think of Taylor's Fitness right now now and he said he's looking great he looks 100% fresh steel he goes look he wasn't using ice and Noak was so he's got the upper [Music] hand 30 f 4 well I think he deserves his set he was close to winning the [Applause] first just a third set he's ever picked up against no he had lost his last 13 Taylor forit F back in this quarterfinal once at all doesn't even make a step for it fascinating that's very interesting for me I mean the very first point you know he looked like he was moving side to side really well there but then not to move forward at all it kind of makes a statement to Taylor prit said hey maybe I should keep using the drop shot see if he's actually going to come get it [Applause] 15 L for second thir for 10 follow [Applause] ah this is some fabulous moving from Taylor FRS and some delicate touch from Novak to just somehow come out on top in this exchange game jovic first game 1 nice clean hole in the end as we take you backstage to some of the Great American Champions Jim Kur is doing such a wonderful job as over here Pete SAS Andre Agassi was in town it was great to see Andre here four time Champion back in Melbourne and hopefully may see him a little bit more around the game over the course of the next year inspiration no doubt for Taylor Fritz and of course many stories would have been told by his uh second coach Paul anacon about the great Pete ampress all that spent time with Tim Herman and Roger fedra and one of the great minds in tennis trying to plot away around the world number one for the first time in his ninth meeting with him I mean Gumby doing it once again Noak jokovic Taylor Fritz all he could do was just laugh and smile over to his Camp cuz he played a great point I love the drop shot Choice especially since jokovic didn't run for it in the very first game so why not try to see if he's going to come but that was just too good from Noak [Applause] [Music] 15 certainly look as though it's going to be probably the longest that he spent or caught through five rounds if he does make the semi-finals here jovic he's closing in on almost 14 hours on court already in his opening five matches back in 2021 the year that he played Taylor on the way through yeah battles with Francis TFA over four sets 3 and 1 half hours the fritz match was 3 hours 25 M Los round it's 3 hours Z three and a half hours obviously went on to claim the title couple of uh straight sets wins in the end against KATV and meddev in the final how many times today on those big pressure points that we've been showing you as he come up with something a little special yeah and Taylor Fritz he absolutely loves the out wide serve on the ad side so you you know you better believe that Novak's going to start reading that one at some [Music] [Applause] point 13 14 what a start this potentially would be for Novak put to bed the problems of the break points that he hasn't been able to convert thank you well it only time short relentless [Applause] new jovic and that's the kind of expansive play that we see this is a great dig from Taylor Fritz gave himself a half a chance still from here to maybe Rescue It just couldn't yeah how good guys is Novak at spreading the court you know we tell Juniors and and and adults of moving the ball side to side keep your opponent on a string but Noak does such a good job of getting the ball off to the court and just keeping you moving [Applause] nonstop and he showed there the advantage of varing the attack didn't he Taylor wasn't quite sure where the forehand was going to go prior to the winning one and it went back in behind to the backand side he just opened up the court a little bit more made the final shot that much easier [Applause] [Music] [Music] 15 I don't know if Taylor is windy here or he's actually wounded because he is not moving as well as we have seen in this match and we saw the shoe off at the change over and they didn't really push off for that one out wide 14 that didn't look good either I mean that was a nice serve good serve but he he guess then and started moving to his left never a good look three straight games the start of the third set for the world number one needs three games [Applause] to and Nick he's had a few problems with his feet in the past hasn't he that one just before the Indian Wells final that he amazingly uh ended up winning uh that was obviously featured on Netflix but he's been in a boot before for stress factors I'm just hoping that there's nothing too serious here for Taylor but that was a that was a game where he did look as though he was limping through it yeah you know there it was there and again we talk about the left angle and you know he's talking to wol Kang his trainer right now he looked at him and said it's fine whatever it is um you know W Kang did tell me the ankle was fine going into this match but again you just talk about the amount of balls that you have to play against Noak and the pressure that he puts on you to move side to side and you know the very first game of the match was was an intense one so yeah hopefully this guy's healthy going forward time let's fly over outside as everybody has parked on the grass or any seats that they can get to come and watch here at Melbourne it has been uh absolutely fantastic of course the first 15-day Australian open this year the inaugural one and it has been Magnificent the opening week just to see the throngs of crowd that have come the popularity of tennis and just the fabulous job that the tennis Australia event management do they have put on such a great show so many youngsters coming in here as well to enjoy their day at the tennis and of course walk away with a great memory of how wonderful this sport is 15 11 Taylor of course has made some uh miraculous recoveries from injuries in the past the miniscus surgery that he had just uh at the French Open in 20121 we never thought he'd make it back for Wimbledon but he managed to it was an incredible effort from him [Applause] 13 11 [Applause] T them Manus in his final point of his second round match at Roland gas that particular year came back didn't just come back though ended up coming back and making the third round at wimon and lost a pretty tight one against verev f look at is the backhand return though from jovic you run out of superlatives it it's he produces the same swing pattern the same hit on the ball times it just as well virtually all the time and it's always deep it's an incredible shot you know and and when the big points arrive it always asks the question jovic leads by three games to one Sun just still peering just into the roof of the rod lab Arena at the moment but it is certainly a lot cooler and it does allow that breaker serve as well for Novak just to condense his energy into these One games if he gets a little look on a tailor forit service game great I'm sure he'll invest in it but these are the moments particularly the first couple of points of each service game that he's going to give absolutely everything to 15 remember Stephan edberg once saying to me always concentrate on the first two points of every single game the serve game and return game you get up 30 love you're pretty much home and dry I kind of felt like there was no chance I could ever take my foot off ever yeah I feel like that's just such a good lesson I mean that's one thing I try to coach you know the kids with the usca American tennis and just really focusing on the first two points cuz sometimes you come up up in a game and you're just kind of playing and you're not really thinking about your game plan but the more you're thinking about those first or second points and that's when your your mind is a bit sharper 41 one thing you know that over the course of five sets or best of five sets players have their dips and their peaks and no backs no different at times he has those those low times in matches but he will come good and in terms of pure numbers the previous serve not the one that we just saw but the previous one on the ju side was his fastest serve of the day so that also bodess well for jovic fans the energy is there to be able to produce that kind of velocity jovic suddenly running right on surf Aces Galore in that game four leads by four Games 2 one [Music] back [Music] back certainly isn't spending any extra energy that he was maybe earlier in the match everything that he is doing is conserving as much energy as he has time looking to get through to his 48th semi-final across all the majors that he has played in over the years and he is the record holder in that department already so looking just to extend that what can Taylor Fritz do here what sort of impact can he have again he didn't seem to be like Novak a little bit in that second set just flinging himself at some of these returns well it takes mental strength strength coming from behind he must feel like he's been doing that the whole match so far has to stay the course well guys Taylor Fritz and true Taylor Fritz Fashion on that change over looked over at his camp and like don't worry I'm going to hold I'm going to hold and so in his mind he's like look I'm just I'm going to keep holding and I'm going to see if I can get that break when it matters most let's second sir you know I can't tell you how good Taylor Fritz was there the length of jovic was astounding he hit the ball within a meter of the base maybe six times in that rally and Fritz still won it he was able to fend off that depth and finally that one dropped a fraction shorter than most and then he rips one heck of a point from Fritz [Music] [Applause] there oh my goodness you know the this point he must have felt like he was half Bing everything and he still won the point not a bad serve not quite close enough to the line good knot yeah Taylor Taylor frit looked over in this direction and he goes that was a good serve and then just got taken over by jokovic yeah it's Relentless Nick isn't it sure is 14 for I think he's the type of player forito that if things fall right for him he can win a major I think if if things fall right for him it's really been a joy to watch him work on that sort of shot it isn't something that's ever come naturally to him but he has spent hours tirelessly trying to find something just a little bit different to upset those kind of rallying situations yeah and the main time they started working on that was in Munich last year so that's in April and you know I speak with Michael Russell during that time and he said yeah we've got to find a way to get Drop shots into his game and that Munich tournament is on the clay courts and that was a perfect time to work on it but Fitzy I'd agree with you this guy could definitely win a major and it goes back to his belief in himself he just believes he's better than anyone he plays against any given day and that belief is huge I still think Nick he's got to fix that grip change on the on the on the low short forehands that's the that's the biggest thing for me when the ball bounces up he's as good as anybody in the world but [Music] hey there's not many perfect players around you know everyone has chinks in their armor and uh well not since you retired anyway stop it this guy P never had a shink in his armor he had a few I saw them whatever that what whatever he tells you Nick don't believe him I mean most players though they don't have perfect games they have weaknesses and strengths and and yes he's got a bit of a weakness on that low forehand but if he can work on that a bit he's he's worked on the drop shot he's right there coming into the prime of his career [Applause] 59 double thoughts is what cause the problems in the second set to allow Fritz to get off to a good start another one Creeps in still feel as though Taylor is struggling a little bit to push off and that's why he's kind of guessing one way or the other to put weight on one leg just to make it a little bit easier to move rather than holding a neutral split step and being able to push go a little bit inflexible there when he's made to change direction he's a big athlete not quite as balanced obviously as as jovic that drop shot may not have been the right choice from way back there but I admire the fact that he's really experimenting with it on a stage like this [Music] jovic barely dropping points on serve in this third set jovic pulls ahead [Applause] 52 oh he's uh pretty Keen to keep a little personal space there Novak as he looks at the cameraman and he certainly kept a bit of personal space between him and Taylor Fritz in this third set very very quick start maintained his lead invested just enough in it I understand personal space sometimes you've just got to have some after two weeks of me I completely understand where you're coming from a very small commentary box and every day you come in it must feel as though it's got like a meter smaller sitting next to me here I don't know why I found myself sneaking over in your direction H time Taylor's going to have to far out up here we're going to have to see a little bit of Taylor Fizz uh in the next sort of 10 or 15 minutes to see whether he can't just find a way just inser a little Jeopardy into jovic's mind that this third set isn't going to get wrapped up convincingly he has been so impressive Under Pressure backs against the wall though in this third set and a two cents to one deficit against this man doesn't often mean that you're going to come out on top it would take some performance from there and again you just see Taylor there just flexing his left ankle so tough if you feel like you've got a problem there and you're just not able to load in the way that you need to look at this what leral Vision he has you know I had my eyes on Taylor Fritz in that rally just to really check out his ankle and he covered a lot of Court there he he competed well hit some good shots of his own but when he finally at the end of the rally got caught behind the Baseline and had his body weight moving the wrong way jovic hits the drop shot so he gets him back there behind out of and laterally he his vision sees him and he throws that in well guys I was just getting ready to say Taylor Fritz has got to watch out serving too many second serves to no back's back hand cuz that return is hitting the Baseline every time and then sure enough now he went to the forehand and another return hitting the Baseline so Novak is pinpoint right now I don't know where else you serve body or just acing at this point it's got to be at this point it's got to be Aces guys yeah there goes the body Theory you don't need to put an invoce in today fixie this man however has put himself up two sets to [Applause] one well the pendulum certainly swung has it balanced for two sets and it's just taken eight games for it to swing heavily in one uh Direction here well guys you talk about the illusion of choice you know last year at Wimbledon I was in the gym after Novak won his semi-final match and 20 minutes later he was in the gym doing a 30 minute workout of lightweights stretching you know you talk about sometimes you win the semi-final okay let's get some rest you got the final on a day and a half no no no this guy went right back to the gym got right back to work to get ready for the final and we all know what happened there 14 well they'll be looking forward to potentially getting in his recovery pod that's here in Melbourne to uh recover from this uh ordeal that he's been in today in terms of the Heat and as he looks forward if he potentially does get the win today temperature is going to come out of the air here in Melbourne at the back end of this week hang on dude I did you see a mish hit I know I feel like no back doesn't even know what a Miss hit is that's crazy [Applause] jovic well guys when Novak is serving Taylor Fritz wide on that douche side and he's having hit a forehand that was a very Ginger run to his left from Taylor Fritz and even he felt like almost he couldn't stop and uh so we we got to keep a look on his movement to his left after a wide forehand they look very Ginger look at this look at that perect Form and Function it's amazing how that has just become such a routine shot for players isn't it the loading on the left leg the sort of the knee flex and then the explosion up and then the control midair yeah but hang on they're not all doing it as perfect as that not all but it is amazing how sort of Rios was really the first one the great Chilean player course former world number one didn't win a major but he kind of brought it in and then other players have followed suit he made the final here one once Mell Rios yeah this is good for his game all power to Mike Russell I think as time goes on He he'll use this more and more because you need different ways to win points I mean Novak has it Roger had it the the great players have it and the really really good ones do too you can't just win two or three different ways that a real estate most valuable of course out there on the rectangle is if you can get inside the Baseline on your terms not just if you're getting rushed and Novak in that third set as you can see wasn't defending as much but he was up inside the Baseline being EX extremely productive taking time away and if Fritz is struggling with that left ankle that's going to make him have to move even more dynamically yeah if you're if you're a meter further forward let's say you're half a meter behind the Baseline on one set and you move half a meter in front of the Baseline and the next you you gain 2 m because the ball's got to go down the other end and come back and the other that means the opposition is going to be rushed now I don't know about this injury with with Fritz and and it looks like there's something there absolutely most players carry something during matches though I just hope it doesn't and that didn't look good either Nick did it 13 oh that's that's the first time I've really worried about it yeah that that just wasn't really a Bend there he didn't bend down to get down for that backhand but you know again I think it's more just the extreme movement to the left when he's really far to the right coming to the left I think that's what we have to look for well the problem is if it takes two or three percentage points off your movement against this guy it's it's a problem you need to be at Full [Applause] Tilt it's one thing to have a theory isn't it but you know mix up you serve and and there's been a lot of variety from Taylor's slowest to his medium pace his average and his fastest and you know Michael's done a great job here but I mean that's a 178 out of nowhere through the forand and Novak's picked that up no problem yeah and pretty much much what what gets a Taylor a lot is if he's missing too many backhands we just saw him miss a couple back hands in the last few points and he's looking at his team like he can't believe it CU he never misses backand in his mind yeah he's in all source of trouble partly due to the injury but also jovic with a Tailwind here joov and he may well show him his tail lights at the end of this point huge moment you're not literally talking about a tow win because generally the wind comes from this Northern end most of the time not always so you're just using a figure of speech mark I'm assuming I make most things up I would have thought after 10 days you would have worked that out Fitzy has he got the best faded forand return on the ju side down the line ever yeah he sure does I mean he just comes on the inside part of the ball and just curves that thing in there and you know again as we talked about so many of those return going to Taylor Fitz's backand I mean that one just had a little bit more juice to it as well and moving to the left is not Taylor's friend at the moment outside edge surely I mean he is taken an absolute Speck of paint hasn't he oh it's a little bit more than that half the ball tattooed onto the line and it keeps him in this fourth [Music] set I think Taylor was a bit unsettled he looked like he almost had the up he hit that back end thinking he' missed it there's a bit of Jitter bugging going on there but he he caught the line and it's a game of centimeters sometimes he's still in [Applause] it he I just sense that he's TIR you know his his body language after the points is different now [Applause] Advantage [Applause] prin game first GTI and he's never not GTI he'll compete to the Finish Line right whatever limitations he has against the absolute Elite it is not his [Applause] competitiveness he's found a way to hang on to serve at the start of this fourth and not many would [Music] have 15 just wonder where the lack of movement that he has on the return means he should shift his position up onto the Baseline and just gamble a little bit more just try and roll the dice on the return oh he could just build one of his best points of the match 24 Shots it's a good forehand isn't it 15 it really is Novak who's harvested so many good points out wide on this due side will he go there again and just keep pulling tayor out who starts very wide it has to be said on his return position then at times guesses to the left and that's the problem that's why I kind of feel Maybe it's just on the ju side not on the ad just to cut that serve off and just take some cuts at the return yeah and if he if he gets the serve you know 6 in wrong just have a swing at it maybe 14 and just optically I feel as though he's got to give him something different to look at out because he is just rolling Novak through these service games game jovic and another one for the world number one that is comfortable 21 fourth set D leads by against [Music] w [Music] [Music] time well I just wonder how where Taylor is sitting at the change over just how dominant Novak has been on serve in the last set and a bit just having a look at some of the numbers here he's played 29 first serve points Novak in sets three and four and he's lost just three of those points 25 on the second serve the world number one and he's lost just four of those so it has been a serving clinic for those fans on Rod La Arena at the moment from the world number one so that kind of reality does surely at some stage provoke some sort of reaction from Taylor to do something different first things first got to hold on to his serve well I'll tell you what guys this the snickles that maybe noack had in the beginning of this match early on in the first set you know with the cold and kind of battling that is completely gone I mean Novak is moving the best he's moved the entire Match 3 hours and 20 minutes in now [Applause] 59 guess there's always some debate about what is the perfect height and size of a of a player they come in different they come in different uh levels don't they let's and you know when you see a guys peers well there we go he's not happy with that one 13 for 10 I think a mish hit there that drops short that he's very unhappy about it doesn't happen often to him yeah I'm not quite sure what he's unhappy about there I mean Taylor pritz went wide on the first serve on the very first point they went T there so I don't know if he was saying look for that serve but but Taylor prit been mixing it up well 14 but that serve right there is a C Taylor Chris has been going to anytime he needs a point the wide one on the outside oh so when your Taylor Fritz's height it's inevitable you're probably not going to move as smoothly and as quickly as this guy he's what 62 and a half 6 63 no back Taylor 65 and Novak's been getting him a little bit in these latter stages with a short wide one to his back and he takes a big step out there Taylor to hit the ground stroke it's amazing what 20 cm or difference almost makes on a serve isn't it to the outcome on the other side I mean the other one was perfect and he got the he got the free point that one was good it just wasn't quite as great no and it came back with interest jeez using it to good effect isn't he I still think when he gets that short ball there and it bounces up he should go with his big for him because he's taking a risk with a drop shot but look all power to him he's using it it it's mixing up the thought processes for Novak he he wasn't expecting that then good to see he's not going to lie down Mark you're right and none of us expect him to fighting hard here really good competitive stuff yeah guys at the 30 40 point the 4030 the one he lost when Novak hit a great return and they got back to dece Taylor Fritz was very gingerly walking for about four or five steps to get ready for that Deuce point so let's keep an eye on kind of how he's walking uh it almost seemed like he kind of jammed his toe in his in his shoe so it could be a little bit of a toe or ankle type deal going on here thank you the biggest k the way is Taylor's slice rate on his back hand in terms of having a problem he sits at around 6% in general for matches over the course of year he was at 7% in the first set that's about normal he was down at 2% he was gripping and ripping in that second set that he won against Novak he has steadily climbed he was at 15% slice back hands in the third and 20% slice back hands in the fourth and what that says is he's not getting out there enough to hit his two hander yeah his movement's not as [Applause] [Music] good chasing Shadows yeah 4 11 you know Nick picked this up a fair while ago and and it's becoming more apparent I think he's he's more proy as the games go by 14 yeah right now it's just so hard for able to push off when he's really pushed wide really to either side to be honest and you know obviously Novak is feeling that and he's going to try to spread him as much as he [Applause] [Music] can please see that's where I'd like him to just gun gun a return run in Hit It crush rush he's not winning those Baseline exchanges from the back of the Court got to insert something a little bit different otherwise his hopes will diminish as are the sun in Melbourne it's 3-2 jovic in the fourth beautiful city as we bring you a little bit more confirmation of what is happening in terms of Taylor Fritz's first serve return hit points as you can see here very little yellow balls which are the ones that are going to be the ones that he wants to see because that will mean he's winning more points than he's losing but as he's getting pulled out wide as Nick's been saying he is virtually winning zero points there so that's why you feel when you look at that right now that he could he might as well change it it's just not a good risk reward play for Taylor and therefore if he moved up he's virtually not losing anything yeah I agree and you know they're moving up but then also taking away the wide serve why not move over take it away make no back beat him down the tier of the body again just change it up while we take a quick look at Taylor flexing his uh left foot out there and a little bit of pain etched on his face he won't be giving up here I can tell you that Novak got out of his chair there a lot faster than normal and as you can see he is already waiting for Taylor to step up to the Baseline there was a purposeful walk from the world number one this is his moment to strike and he is often deadly [Applause] [Music] follow yeah guys you almost feel like Taylor's got to take some chances like he did there on the forehand just be a little bit more aggressive the fire power that was a lot bigger so he's got to get Noak on his back foot instead of Taylor being on his back foot well the injury accentuates that I mean generally speaking I think that's true too I mean you don't want to be defending all the time against Novak if you can help but it's pretty hard not to because he's so good but you're better off being aggressive I think against him but especially with the this injury now it's it's accentuated more he's got to take more risks he has to and what a beauti beautiful way to bring him forward and take him out of his comfort zone there because he is not quite as good in the for court as he is at the back what do you call it here Swiss army knife Leatherman if you're in South Africa you'd call it a leather man you know those tools that have every single blade and screwdrivers and Bottles bottle openers Swiss army knife maybe yeah guys that's a Swiss army knife yeah so well there's different names for for different brands but that's what I look at Novak that's what I think I think he's the at one of those he has every single thing that you need on a tennis court to come off a Victor that lovely little short slice that he suddenly introduced out of nowhere yeah and he's just razor sharp one of those rallies where the opponent feels like they're in it but they're not really yeah and this is it this is it Mark this is the crucial time this is the edge of the cliff really 15 14 and you heard the output there from Novak yeah guys Novak just went into complete lock down mode there was not going to make a single mistake and Taylor Fritz bit at the very [Applause] end this is the elevated version of Novak jovic when the moment arrives so does he thank [Music] you jovic he is the master of his own destiny doesn't do home visits and he's made it happen once again Fitzy and off a first serve that was a big one he hits it within a meter and a half of the Baseline what a what a a a backand this is the timing it takes to hit that time and time again is quite extraordinary he knows where that racket face is like no one [Applause] else most of the just thinking can I get this back over the net somewhere well not only that how many times has Taylor taken it to his forand on those big points and won the point and yet changed it up went huge as you say and Novak still pinged it back to the Baseline love [Applause] for [Music] there's a risk that's a massive reward for the American and guys that's not even really a massive risk for Taylor Fritz I mean he has got that one in his bag and he knows it so let's just see if he can use that throughout the rest of the set follow what a response from s the frz well I I had to admit I didn't really see this coming after that break of serve he's made no more than a faint presence in Novak service games for two sets and all of a sudden well this but this is the competitive Spirit you've talked about all power to him [Applause] 14 well it was interesting to see him at love 30 trying to switch directions Novak with his first serve down the te perhaps he feels that he's over served Taylor's forehand and that the American would have been waiting there you kind of feel that he'll go back to that place which has won him so many points and he hasn't it many there and that's perhaps just cost him the opportunity to make a first serve for he deserves that bit of good fortune we're back on sering the [Applause] for there may be some fans outside Milling around getting their third or fourth drink awaiting the evening session that maybe disagree with that but Taylor Fritz certainly won't he seemingly hasn't used up all is pow yet little more ammunition from the American in there and then the chef's kiss off the net [Music] time I'm F happy that Taylor has managed to break back as you can see here outside the evening crowd watching on on the big screens excited to see this contest but equally excited to see the two matches that will be getting underway tonight saena Kika and of course sen Ru for a seventh edition they are waiting patiently and that's not a bad place to wait [Applause] either Nole fans out there will he get it done in four or can Taylor Fritz potentially from here take us to a fifth set [Music] you almost feel like the quicker the second serve the worse it is for Fritz at times because it's back onto it yeah I agree yeah and that second serve just doesn't get up on jokovic so it's right in his wheelhouse and he's able to put it right on the Baseline I think especially on the first quarter it slides into the body or into the back hand rather than biting and kicking High and I guess it's inevitable that after 3 hours and 39 minutes the first step is not going to be as quick it's becomes attrition doesn't [Applause] it [Music] [Music] love 14 well he's less animated now Novak and I think deep down he knows it's like slow death in a way isn't [Applause] it even though he lost that previous service game I'm not sure he's opponent is wounded but he's slowing l game well a couple of really really impressive Boomerang breaks for both players firstly from and then for the 10 time Champion here in Australia No Rest bite for for it yeah Michael Russell just telling Taylor there stay aggressive that was the game plan coming in stay aggressive if you're going to change to go down the line commit to your shots but now nov back serving for the match please the players are ready follow 15 left he's just half a step slower Now isn't he a big [Applause] guy thank you 30 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] left ready for play follow so 10 plus aces in five consecutive matches now Nova that's not something that happens too often just the second time he's done that in his career back in 2021 when it seemed a lot quicker has to be said he managed that particular record from the second round to the semi-final and in terms of Aces they make this his sixth best match with 20 Aces in it in his Grand Slam career [Applause] 14 he's been on point when he's needed to be and that has brought up Match [Applause] Point thank you please [Applause] pleas finishes with a and the finest player in the world puts himself through to an 11th semifinal in Melbourne it's taken him over 15 hours to get there that is the longest marage he ever put on the clock to get through to this stage in Australia but just a couple of matches now separating him from a 25th major title well it wasn't without issues not for Novak he had uh certainly some heat issues at the start he he's had the cold or the stiffles we don't quite know exactly what it is but he he hasn't been probably 100% and that was fought with some Danger from this big serving American who I take my hat off too he he was admirable wasn't he I I think physically he was drained at the start of the four and he just lost that momentum he couldn't go couldn't go nov back at with nov back at the end but an enrolling contest really the play great all tournament got his first have a top 10 win at a grand slam um so that hugely important for him in terms of the knowledge that that will bring him down the road I think he was hampered with his left ankle as that match went on it seemed to get significantly worse but he's put in another great major there's no doubt about it third time he's been to the quarterfinal stage of a major tournament and he's just gaining obviously from that experience but he just happens to be playing in an era that has been dominated by some simply phenomenal players and currently is absolutely dominated by this man it is still his world and he is still the best in it performance well played turn of the 10 time Champion got a bit of a scare for a while and he'll be back he's just 26 years of age and you can see how tenderly he is walking up those stairs as well and he may well have masked that pain from us as Welcome to our special guest in for this match Nick curi a man that doesn't really need any introduction in these parts and this might be a little bit more chaotic for nov that than the match it was itself here's the Nick and Novak show so Novak I never thought I'd be here by the way doing this on Cor well done you know that was a an incredible performance you know Taylor has improved his game so much you know he had an 8-0 head-to-head but um you know you're gunning for an 11th title here so what what keeps you going right now in front of these fans yeah I need a mic thanks man good to see you man great to see you looking good in that Booth but looking better here hopefully with a record also soon um yeah we miss Nick come on guys show him some love yeahh what was the question about okay yeah it was about minut uh man I suffered a lot uh first couple of sets um also due to his high quality tennis he was serving well he was uh staying CL close to the line he you know he was really uh kind of suffocating me from from from back of the Court you know I was uh you know most of the relies on my back foot you know it was really difficult to find the right timing it was extremely hot while the sun was uh still out there uh yeah physically very draining emotionally as well uh huge round of applause for for Fritz for a great performance uh today and also this tournament he's played amazing tennis so you were actually Zero from 15 break points today and that was the first time ever in your career you weren't able to take one how were you able to keep bouncing back and you know cuz he was serving great today I sat in that box for 4 hours by the way commenting you were blowing me kisses and you were sticking your tongue out but yeah Zero from 15 how' you keep bouncing back felt felt like playing you man with your serve um I mean Taylor we all know Taylor has got one of the best serves in the world uh he's had one of the best serves for many years and when he's feeling it I I saw him playing tipas a few days ago and he was serving extremely well so I knew the the kind of a threat he uh he poses when when he serves on such a high quality yeah uh conversion of the break points was really poor I saw I think it was four for 21 today but I think in the end of the day uh I managed to break him when when it mattered you know in the third and the fourth uh I think I up my game probably in Midway to the third set all the way to the end I served extremely well I think I had probably more even more Aces than he did which is uh a surprise stat but you know it helped a lot obviously in this kind of this kind of matchup so your next match is either so your next match is either between Yanik Sina or Andre rublev and you're going to keep them here till late tonight by the way because they're still going to be playing tonight are you doing that match no no no I'm going I'm going to bed okay but um yes so what are your thoughts on that you know some you know CA had some success against you to the end of last year but I mean some two Young Guns there hello one two three yeah okay so uh yeah different matchup obviously uh both cner and rubl are in great form you know I I watched the ruiv the other night against demor I mean five sets uh some of the quickest uh exchanges grueling exchanges I've I've seen in Rod La arena in years uh you know they both played incredible tennis cner he's probably playing tennis of his life you know he had a fantastic ending of the last season and we had a couple of Great Encounters in Torino also Davis Cup um very close ones going 76 75 in the third so um yeah I can expect him to play always on the highest level but look let's get some popor corn you and I put we chill on the sofa and we enjoy them enjoy the match and watch them play last question cuz I know I'm probably never going to do this ever again so I know there's a tree in the Royal Botanical Gardens that you go to and you hug and I don't know what you do but can you just show me which tree that is cuz I need to get healthy cuz I'm sick of you winning on this court and I just want to come back maybe once and beat you one time show me the tree where's the tree okay I'll show you the tree but you can't tell anyone it's a big secret so what you got to do is take off your shoes climb the the tree the highest point and hang upside down on one of the highest branches for 33 minutes and and 3 seconds and you're going to win a slam all right guys Novak jovic give it up he's into the quarterfinals semi-finals

Channel: Australian Open TV

Views: 117,238

Keywords: 2024 Australian Open, 2024 tennis, 2024Australian Open, AO24, Aus Open, Aus Open 2024, Australian Open, Australian Open 2024, Australian Open 2024 tennis, Australian Open TV, Australian Open highlights, Australian Open tennis, Djokovic, Fritz, Grand Slam, Melbourne, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Tennis, highlights, tennis highlights

Id: ZarYCPgfCQA

Length: 215min 44sec (12944 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 17 2024