Novak Djokovic holds off Taylor Fritz to reach Australian Open semifinals for 11th time

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Nobody has ever been better at this end of the Australian Open than Novak Djokovic, the 10-time champion.

Every time he's won a quarterfinal at Melbourne Park—as he did against Taylor Fritz on Tuesday—he's gone on to win the title.

The odds are usually stacked against his semifinal rival. Perhaps even more so against fourth-seeded Jannik Sinner, who won a quarterfinal over No. 5 Andrey Rublev that didn't start until 10:42 p.m. and didn't finish until 1:21 a.m. Wednesday.

Djokovic reached his record-extending 48th Grand Slam semifinal by beating Fritz 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in three and 3/4 hours. Their match started late in the heat of the afternoon because US Open champion Coco Gauff's win over Marta Kostuk took more than three hours in the preceding women's quarterfinal on Rod Laver Arena.

In an on-court interview with Australian player Nick Kyrgios, who has been sidelined by a long-term injury, Djokovic made a light-hearted joke about getting popcorn and watching Sinner vs. Rublev on late-night TV.