Novak Djokovic defeated Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The Serbian started slowly but soon took control of the match as he entered his 11th semi-final in Melbourne. The 36-year-old won the match 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to extend his unbeaten run against Fritz to 9-0. After his match, Djokovic was told that he has matched a record by one of his childhood heroes Monica Seles.
The win against Taylor Fritz was Novak Djokovic’s 33 successive win at the Melbourne Park. With this triumph, the Serbian has equaled the record set by Monica Seles many years ago. Djokovic was delighted when he came across the stat and heaped praise on Monica Seles. The duo have history together as both of them were coached by the late Jelena Gencic.
Novak Djokovic admitted that Seles was one of his heroes growing up. The Serbian shares a special connect with Seles, as both of them were coached by Jelena Gencic. The 36-year-old admitted that he used to hear about Seles a lot in his childhood and expressed his delight at sharing the record with her.
“It means a lot. I didn’t know that I’m sharing this achievement, this record with her. It makes it of course even more special for me. Jelena Gencic, my tennis mother, as I like to call her, she passed away in 2012, worked with Monica when she was young. So Monica was definitely one of my childhood idols and heroes, and I looked up to her very much. Yeah, about Monica, I have only nice words to say about her. I’m really glad that we are sharing this record.”
Novak Djokovic and Monica Seles share a great bond together. The duo came from a similar part of world as Djokovic represented Serbia, while Seles represented Yugoslavia. Now, Djokovic and Seles are part of history together and that has delighted the Serbian superstar.
Novak Djokovic is unbeaten in the Australian Open since 2018
Novak Djokovic has been on a remarkable run at the Australian Open. The Serbian is unbeaten in 33 consecutive games with his last defeat coming in 2018. In 2018, Djokovic lost to South Korea’s Chung Hyeon in the fourth round of the competition. Since then, the 36-year-old has won the Australian Open title each year, except for the 2022 season, when he did not compete due to vaccination issues. Djokovic is a record ten time winner of the ‘Happy Slam’.
Another astonishing record is that Novak Djokovic has never lost a semi-final or final at the Australian Open. The Serbian is still creating and breaking all sorts of records at the age of 36. Now, with another semi-final berth secured, the 24 time Grand Slam champion will hope to win a record 11th title at the Rod Laver Arena.
