Novak Djokovic defied fierce heat and a battling performance from Taylor Fritz on Tuesday to reach the Australian Open semi-finals and stay on track for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title. 

The Serbian world number one struggled with the conditions early in the contest but came through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and will play Jannik Sinner or Andrey Rublev for a place in Sunday's final. 

“It was extremely hot when the sun was still out there,” Novak said after the match at Rod Laver Arena, which stretched to three hours and 45 minutes. He added, “The match was physically and emotionally very draining and a huge round of applause to Fritz for a great performance today and this tournament.”

Conversion of the break points was really poor, but I think at the end of the day I managed to break him when it really mattered, the third and the fourth."

The win was Djokovik’s 33rd consecutive victory in Melbourne, a startling run stretching back to 2018. He did not compete at the event in 2022 due to his Corona-virus vaccination status. 

The 36-year-old came into the match boasting a perfect 8-0 record against the American 12th seed.