07:03
Djokovic – Fritz 0:1
Now the defending champion can also serve! Djokovic’s first attempt fails, but the Serb is still able to keep the rallies short. With a sensitive stop, he puts the ball just behind the net from the baseline – 30:0.
07:00
Djokovic – Fritz 0:1
With a return error, Fritz secures a free point, which will certainly do him good. After 16 minutes the time has come: Djokovic crosses the forehand into the edge of the field and the American makes it 1-0 with a lot of effort.
06:59
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
The American does everything right until he volleys at the net, but then his arm isn’t long enough and the ball flies into the net. But Djokovic doesn’t remain flawless either, he puts the backhand longline well into the sideline – again there is a game ball for Fritz.
06:57
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
For the seventh (!) time it’s about debut – Fritz can’t help but smile after his own avoidable mistake. With a forehand that was recognized late, the American pulled through a little later, landed the winner and got the ball again to make it 1-0.
06:55
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
The longest rally of the match so far goes to Fritz! 22 shots fly back and forth before Djokovic gets too long with the 23rd. But a little later Fritz hits a forehand inside-out too late and the ball ticks behind the baseline – debut.
06:54
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
This first service game has already lasted ten minutes and Fritz keeps pulling his head out of the loop! Djokovic once again misses a break chance because his forehand cross shot is too long.
06:53
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
Djokovic invests an incredible amount in the first return game and really wants the break. He secures a chance again because he sensitively lifts a deep volley over. But again the break ball remains unused because the Serb makes a mistake in the return.
06:51
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
The outsider follows up a short ball well, moves forward to the net and puts a volley into the field. However, Fritz cannot use the following ball because another push to the net seems too indecisive and he volleys into touch with his forehand.
06:50
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
Fritz fends off the breakball, although he has to resort to the second serve again. Djokovic falls short with a backhand, the American recognizes this and accelerates with the backhand longline.
06:48
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
There’s an early break chance for the Serb! Fritz crosses a forehand completely unnecessarily and the ball sails far behind the baseline.
06:48
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
Djokovic fends off his opponent’s ball because he returns hard into the middle. Fritz puts his backhand into the net under pressure and it goes straight to deuce.
06:46
Djokovic – Fritz 0:0
Because Fritz’s first serve doesn’t come as desired, Djokovic can work his way into the rallies. The US boy tries to use his forehand particularly often, but he doesn’t make any mistakes – 30 both.
06:44
Fritz opens the match!
The American starts with his serve game and serves to the outside. Djokovic returns cross, but Fritz pushes the first winner of the match into the open field with his forehand longline.
06:38
The coin toss
Fritz won the coin toss and chose to serve on his own. After a few minutes of warm-up, the match starts.
06:20
Gauff prevails
In the end, Gauff prevails after more than three hours and the Rod Laver Arena will soon be free. At around 6:45 a.m. it finally starts between Djokovic and Fritz!
05:37
The waiting time increases
Kostyuk manages to equalize the set against Gauff in the tiebreak and so the third set actually has to make the decision. Our match will be postponed again, the new start time will certainly not be before 6:20 a.m.
05:15
The court is still occupied
Kostyuk and Gauff broke each other several times in the second set, meaning there is still no winner between the two. Djokovic and Fritz have to be patient, if the American gets her way, it could start around 6 a.m. If not, it would even go into the third set and the start time would be pushed back even further.
04:32
The start is delayed
Kostyuk and Gauff are currently fighting for a semi-final ticket in the Rod Laver Arena. The American won the first round in the tiebreak a few minutes ago. Because the second set is just beginning now, the start of our game is delayed. It probably won’t start before 5:15 a.m.
04:27
Clear results speak in favor of the Serb
The head to head between the two protagonists could not be clearer before this quarter-final: Djokovic and Fritz have faced each other eight times since 2019 – all duels were won by the current world number one. The Serb only lost two games in total, so Fritz could almost be considered Djokovic’s favorite opponent. The closest match between the two was at the Australian Open 2021 in the third round: Djokovic won 7:6, 6:4, 3:6, 4:6 and 6:2. After that, there were only straight defeats for Fritz, who met Djoker particularly often at Masters tournaments. Most recently there was a painful three-set defeat at the US Open, which knocked the American out of the Grand Slam in the quarterfinals.
04:20
Fritz throws Tsitsipas out of the tournament
The American Taylor Fritz also got stronger and stronger and secured his first round of 16 in Melbourne with a deserved win against Tsitsipas in the round of 16. At the same time, it was his first success at a Grand Slam against a player from the top 10. The man from California was about to be eliminated in the first round because Fritz struggled the full distance against the Argentinian Diaz Acosta and got a first :2 sentences still behind. In the following matches, like Djokovic, he became more stable and finally impressed in the round of 16 with very good serves and a backhand that often landed exactly on the spot in the corner.
04:11
Djokovic is improving from game to game
The Serb, who was physically weak in the first few weeks because he had a cold, is now getting better from game to game. Already in round three against 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Djokovic presented himself confidently and won in three sets for the first time in this tournament. This was followed by a convincing performance against Mannarino in the round of 16: the number one needed less than two hours to move into the round of the last eight players, the Serb even missed two bagels on his unchallenged opponent and won 6:0, 6:0, 6 :3.
04:02
Hello and welcome to the quarterfinals
Good morning and welcome to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. It starts with defending champions Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz, who are scheduled to face each other in the Rod Laver Arena from around 4:30 a.m.