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Djokovic Reaches Australian Open Semifinals for 11th Time

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after victory against USA's Taylor Fritz during their men's singles quarter-final match on day 10 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2024. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after victory against USA's Taylor Fritz during their men's singles quarter-final match on day 10 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2024. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)
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Djokovic Reaches Australian Open Semifinals for 11th Time

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after victory against USA's Taylor Fritz during their men's singles quarter-final match on day 10 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2024. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after victory against USA's Taylor Fritz during their men's singles quarter-final match on day 10 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2024. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

Novak Djokovic held off Taylor Fritz 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 3 3/4 hours to reach the Australian Open semifinals for the 11th time on Tuesday.
When he gets through the quarterfinals in Australia, Djokovic is unbeaten.
The 24-time major champion has won all 10 semifinals he’s contested at Melbourne Park, and all 10 finals. In his record-extending 48th Grand Slam semifinal, he’ll play No. 4-seeded Jannik Sinner or No. 5 Andrey Rublev.
Fritz saved the first 15 breakpoints he faced, an unheard of stat against one of the best returners ever.
“We all know Taylor has got one of the best serves in the world,” Djokovic said. "I knew the kind of threat he poses when he serves on such a high quality.
“My conversion was really poor but in the end of the day, I managed to break him when it mattered. I upped my game midway through the third set, all the way to the end."
The first game set the tone for a long, tough match. It lasted 16 minutes and contained 24 points, going to deuce nine times. Fritz fended off three breakpoints before finally holding.
The first set lasted 1 hour, 24 minutes — the longest opening set of the tournament — and was in the balance until the tiebreaker, The Associated Press reported.
The match started in bright sunlight and almost 32-degree (90 Fahrenheit) heat, and the shade moved from west to east across the court from behind the umpire's chair.
After Fritz held in the 11th game, Djokovic was agitated and gesturing to get the attention of his support team, calling for salts.
But after holding and taking the set to a tiebreaker, Djokovic finished a 21-shot rally with a stunning backhand crosscourt winner to get five set points. He put his finger to his ear, nodded his head and blew a kiss toward a commentary box at the rear of the court.
It was Fritz who got the first service break to open the second set, having fended off eight in the first set against him.
He saved another seven break point chances in the second, mostly with clean winners, and maintained the break to level at one set apiece, closing with an ace.
After all that resistance, though, Fritz was broken in the second game of the third set when Djokovic converted his 16th chance. Djokovic broke again, at love, in the ninth game to wrap up the third set in 38 minutes.
In the fourth, Fritz struggled to hold in a game that contained 14 points and then was broken in the sixth. He hit back immediately, converting his second break point with a forehand that clipped the net and dropped for a winner.
But Djokovic denied anymore twists by breaking back again for 5-3 and serving out.
Djokovic had beaten Fritz in straight sets in all but one of their previous eight encounters, including last year's US Open quarterfinals. The exception was here in Australia in 2021, when it went to five.

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Nadal Retires at Davis Cup after he Loses and Spain is Eliminated

Rafa Nadal of Spain waves during a tribute received after the Spanish doubles match against the Netherlands during the Davis Cup quarterfinal between Netherlands and Spain at the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain, 19 November 2024. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA
Rafa Nadal of Spain waves during a tribute received after the Spanish doubles match against the Netherlands during the Davis Cup quarterfinal between Netherlands and Spain at the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain, 19 November 2024. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA
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Nadal Retires at Davis Cup after he Loses and Spain is Eliminated

Rafa Nadal of Spain waves during a tribute received after the Spanish doubles match against the Netherlands during the Davis Cup quarterfinal between Netherlands and Spain at the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain, 19 November 2024. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA
Rafa Nadal of Spain waves during a tribute received after the Spanish doubles match against the Netherlands during the Davis Cup quarterfinal between Netherlands and Spain at the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain, 19 November 2024. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA

Rafael Nadal bit his lower lip and his reddened eyes welled with tears as he stood alongside his Davis Cup teammates for Spain's national anthem Tuesday before what he — and everyone — knew might be the last match of his career.

Hours after Nadal's 6-4, 6-4 loss to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands was over, the evening did turn out to represent the 22-time Grand Slam champion's farewell to professional tennis, because the Dutch eliminated the Spaniards in the quarterfinals just after midnight, The Associated Press reported.

And it was during an on-court, post-match ceremony to honor Nadal that he cried and cried, at the singsong chorus of “Raaa-faaa” from the spectators, at the video showing highlights from his more than two decades on tour and the collection of recorded tributes from current or former players such as his Big Three rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Conchita Martinez and Andy Murray, and stars from other sports such as golf's Sergio Garcia or soccer's David Beckham.

“The titles, the numbers, are there, so people probably know that, but the way I would like to be remembered is as a good person from a small village in Mallorca,” the 38-year-old Nadal told the flag-waving, sign-toting crowd at the sold-out Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena. “Just a kid that followed their dreams, worked as hard as possible. ... I have been very lucky.”

He had said beforehand that his feelings would need to be put on hold, that this week was about attempting to claim one last trophy for his country, not about pondering his impending retirement, which he announced last month would come after this event.

But he acknowledged after playing that "the emotions were difficult to manage,” and that he felt nerves out there amid the roars of an adoring audience that mostly showed up for one player and one player only.
After Nadal, a 14-time French Open champion, was beaten on the indoor hard court in southern Spain, he became a cheerleader for his heir apparent, Carlos Alcaraz, who evened the matchup against the Netherlands at 1-all by getting past Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (0), 6-3 in the other singles match. But then van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof clinched the victory for the Dutch by defeating Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) in the deciding doubles match.
Even if Spain had managed to get past the Netherlands, Nadal said that if he were his team's captain, he wouldn't pick himself to play again in the semifinals after that performance against the 80th-ranked van de Zandschulp.
At least he was in a joking mood after the result put a stop to his 29-match winning streak in Davis Cup singles. The only other blemish on his record, which stood at 29-1 entering Tuesday, came in his 2004 debut.
“I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one,” Nadal said with a wide grin. “So we close the circle.”
When a forehand found the net to close his last match, Nadal walked to the net for a quick hug with his opponent.
“That was a tough, tough match to play,” said van de Zandschulp, noting that he idolized Nadal while growing up.
In certain ways, this was, unmistakably, the Nadal that van de Zandschulp — and so many others — can remember. The white headband, marked with the red bull logo Nadal made famous. The white tape wrapped around all four of his left, racket-holding fingers. The water bottles by his sideline bench, placed just so.
There was the occasional ace right on a line. The occasional serve-and-volley foray. The occasional over-the-shoulder putaway. And, yes, the occasional uppercut and scream of “Vamos!” There also were — neither to Nadal’s or most of the 9,200 spectators’ liking — several points where he looked like a once-dominant figure diminished by age and injuries.
Nadal was just not able to bring his best, no matter how many chants of “Ra-fa!” or “España!” or “Si, se puede!” (“Yes, you can!”) broke out, no matter how many scarves reading “Gracias, Rafa!” or red-and-yellow Spanish flags of all sizes filled the arena.
This version of Nadal had hip issues, including surgery in June 2023, and abdominal problems that combined to limit him to only 24 matches over the past two years. He went 12-8 in singles in 2024.
The match against van de Zandschulp — who upset Alcaraz at the US Open — was Nadal’s first outing that counted since early August at the Paris Olympics. He lost there in the second round of singles to Djokovic and bowed out in the doubles quarterfinals alongside Alcaraz.
Nadal and Alcaraz practiced with each other hours before the start of play. The day, much like the entire Davis Cup leadup, was largely about memories of, and praise for, Nadal.
“You know very well what you have meant to the tennis world,” said Spain's captain, David Ferrer, who lost to Nadal in the 2013 French Open final. “We will miss you a lot.”
Nadal’s appeal was found in how he played tennis, relentless and striking each shot as if it might be his last, and the humility he displayed away from competition. No one cared for him as much as his fellow Spaniards. He is a national hero, transcending sports, and that was clear from the love expressed over and over via shouts and standing ovations — when Nadal entered the court, when he won a point, when his match ended, and so on.
“When we heard the news that Rafa was retiring, this really became something special — a chance to see the greatest sportsman in the country’s history,” said Luis Julve, a 19-year-old college student who made the trip from Madrid with his mother and aunt.
When the matches, the ceremony, the night and his career were over, Nadal hugged his teammates and left the court, pausing to wave goodbye to his fans one last time.
“The truth is that nobody ever wants to arrive at this moment,” Nadal said. “I’m not tired of playing tennis, but it’s my body that doesn’t want to play anymore, so I have to accept the situation. Honestly, I feel super privileged for having been able to make a career out of my hobby, and for having played for much longer than I could ever have imagined."