Australian Open tennis preview and pick: Djokovic vs. Fritz

Defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will take on a familiar opponent Taylor Fritz for a spot in the semifinals. Tuesday’s winner will go up against either Jannik Sinner or Andrey Rublev.

Novak Djokovic is not likely to be quaking in his boots at the prospect of playing quarterfinal opponent Taylor Fritz. The world No. 1 has faced Fritz eight times since they first met in 2019 and the American has not yet managed to secure a win. Not that Fritz hasn’t gotten close a few times. He even took an admittedly ailing Djokovic to five sets at the 2021 Australian Open but couldn’t quite get over the finish line.

Djokovic was nursing a sore wrist during the first week of this event. He even dropped a set each in his first two rounds, but all of that is a distant memory now. He absolutely spanked Adrian Mannarino in the round of 16, dishing out a pair of bagels en route to a straight-set win. Message set? Watch out, Fritz.

Fritz did have a nice win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in his fourth-round match, but Tsitsipas had been a little off all week–so it’s difficult to draw any kind of conclusions about whether that might mean an opportunity for the underdog to get his first win over the Serb.

The undeniable facts are that Djokovic is playing at his best tournament against an opponent who has never beaten him, and a best-of-five format is unlikely to be the place that Fritz makes his breakthrough.

Cheryl pick: Djokovic in 3

Ricky pick: Djokovic in 3