Novak Djokovic defeats Taylor Fritz to improve to 14-0 in his career in US Open quarterfinals

With every match he plays, Novak Djokovic gets more and more dangerous, and by the time he gets to the business end of Grand Slam tournaments, he's even harder to beat.

And Tuesday night was the perfect example, as he defeated No. 4-ranked Taylor Fritz—who's won more matches than any other man in the last three months—in four sets in the quarterfinals of the US Open, 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

With that win, the four-time US Open champion improved to 14-0 in his career in quarterfinal matches in Flushing Meadows.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN US OPEN QUARTERFINALS: 14-0

• d. Moya in 2007 QFs, 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-1
• d. Monfils in 2008 QFs, 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
• d. Verdasco in 2009 QFs, 7-6 (2), 1-6, 7-5, 6-2
• d. Monfils in 2010 QFs, 7-6 (1), 6-1, 6-2
• d. Tipsarevic in 2011 QFs, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (3), 6-0, 3-0 ret.
• d. Del Potro in 2012 QFs, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4
• d. Youzhny in 2013 QFs, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
• d. Murray in 2014 QFs, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (1), 6-2, 6-4
• d. Lopez in 2015 QFs, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2)
• d. Tsonga in 2016 QFs, 6-3, 6-2 ret.
• d. Millman in 2018 QFs, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
• d. Berrettini in 2021 QFs, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
• d. Fritz in 2023 QFs, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
• d. Fritz in 2025 QFs, 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4

And there's more.

With his latest victory, Djokovic ties Jimmy Connors' all-time men's record for most career semifinals at the US Open.

MOST CAREER US OPEN SEMIFINALS (men, all-time):

• 14: Jimmy Connors [1974-81, 1982-85, 1987, 1991]
• 14: Novak Djokovic [2007-16, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2025]
• 12: Bill Larned [1897, 1900-05, 1907-11]
• 11: Bill Tilden [1918-25, 1927, 1929-30]
• 10: Andre Agassi [1988-90, 1994-96, 1999, 2002-03, 2005]
• 10: Roger Federer [2004-11, 2014-15]
• 9: Bill Johnston [1915-16, 1919-20, 1922-25, 1927]
• 9: Pete Sampras [1990, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1998, 2000-02]
• 8: John McEnroe [1978-82, 1984-85, 1990]
• 8: Ivan Lendl [1982-1989]

With his victory over the world No. 4 on Tuesday night, Djokovic will now face the world No. 2, Carlos Alcaraz, in the semifinals on Friday.

"Well, it's not going to get easier. I tell you that," Djokovic told reporters. "Look, as I said, I'm going to try to take one day at a time. Really take care of my body. Try to relax and recover. The next couple of days is really key for me to really get my body in shape and ready to battle five sets if it's needed. I just would really love that. Would love to be fit enough to play and to play, you know, potentially five sets with Carlos. I know that my best tennis is going to be required, but I'd rise to the occasion.

"Normally I like to play the big matches on a big stage. It's just that I'm not really sure how the body is going to feel in the next few days. But I'm going to do my very best with my team to be fit for that.

"There's going to be a lot of running involved, that's for sure. It's not going to be short points."

Djokovic leads Alcaraz in their head-to-head, 5-3, but perhaps more importantly he's 3-0 against the Spaniard on hard courts with wins at Cincinnati and the ATP Finals in 2023 and then at the Australian Open earlier this year.

The other men's semifinal will be set on Wednesday after the last two quarterfinal matches take place, the first one between Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime and the second one between Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.