Novak Djokovic Defeats Taylor Fritz in 3rd Round of 2021 Australian Open

Andy Brownbill/Associated Press

Novak Djokovic had to survive another long match at the 2021 Australian Open on Friday, advancing to the fourth round with a 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 win over Taylor Fritz.

It marked the second straight match in which Djokovic has looked vulnerable on the court. His second-round win over Frances Tiafoe lasted four sets, including two tiebreakers, and took nearly three-and-a-half hours to complete.

Returning to the court two days later, Djokovic had to play another three-plus-hour marathon before putting away Fritz. He also appeared to suffer an injury midway through the match but was able to push through it to get the win.

Fritz proved from the start that he was going to cause Djokovic some problems. The top seed on the men’s side was able to win the first set in a tiebreak, despite Fritz having a 9-8 advantage in winners and 3-1 edge in aces.

Djokovic was able to take advantage of Fritz’s 21 unforced errors in the opening set. It seemed like he would be able to put things away in fairly quick order after that when he took the second set 6-4, but that was when the match took a turn for the eight-time Australian Open champion.

Fritz got on the board in the third set with a 6-3 win, during which he had seven aces and took advantage of 10 unforced errors from Djokovic.

Tennis journalist Jose Morgado noted after the third set that Djokovic appeared to be nursing some sort of injury:

Djokovic took a medical timeout early in the third set with an apparent injury to his midsection. The issue came after he was trying to return a shot while changing direction, causing his legs to split wide.

Djokovic got another short break in the fourth set while trailing 2-3 when fans were forced to vacate Rod Laver Arena because of the state of Victoria’s mandatory COVID-19 lockdown that started at 11:59 p.m. local time.

Despite the additional time he received to have medical attention, Djokovic was unable to save the fourth set. In the second game in the fifth, Djoker appeared to have more issues with the injury. He was trying to return a shot from Fritz, but pulled up short and dropped his racket briefly to lean over a piece of railing to catch his breath.

After he was able to tie the fifth set at one, Djokovic seemed like he was able to get back on track. He won four straight points in the third game, including an ace on the final point to take a 2-1 advantage.

Fritz fought back, tying the match in the fourth game. Djokovic had his breakthrough moment after that by winning the next two games, breaking Fritz’s serve to go up 4-2.

Even though Djokovic held on for the win here, his injury will be worth monitoring. The 33-year-old was walking around gingerly, especially during the fifth set, and appeared to be gasping for air at times.

Djokovic will be taking on No. 14 Milos Raonic in the fourth round Sunday. Djoker has never lost in 11 career matches against the Canadian star. They have met twice in the Australian Open quarterfinals, most recently in 2020. Djokovic won both of those matches in straight sets.