"A lot of suffering in every aspect" - Novak Djokovic on battling the heat during the day match against Taylor Fritz at 2024 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic has stated that he did not enjoy battling the conditions during his 2024 Australian Open quarterfinal clash against Taylor Fritz.

On Tuesday, January 23, Djokovic beat Fritz 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to book his spot in the semifinals of the Melbourne Major. While the match took three hours and 45 minutes to finish, the final two sets needed just 82 minutes — which underlines how the two went toe-to-toe at the start.

After nearly two-and-a-half hours of play at the Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic and Fritz were on level footing and it looked like the match could go the distance. However, the Serbian upped his game in the third set and managed to finish the match in four.

Besides the quality of Fritz, the World No. 1 was also doing his best to deal with the heat inside the stadium. During changeovers, he was seen using towels and ice packs to try and cool down.

At a press conference after the match, Djokovic said that while he was happy to have come through the contest with a win, he did not enjoy it and had to suffer a lot.

"I actually said that to my team right after the match. I said that this match was not an enjoyable match for me at all," he said.

"Of course I'm proud to overcome the kind of challenge and obstacles, and I'm of course pleased to win, but it was not enjoyable at all. It was really, yeah, suffering, a lot of suffering in every aspect. No, you have days like that where you just have to accept it and face the circumstances and try to make the most out of it," he added.

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Novak Djokovic: "When you're playing on a hard court, the heat is absorbed in the surface"

Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic also explained that day matches on hardcourts are more taxing on the players as they tend to feel the heat a lot more on this surface than on others.

"I think we both felt the effect of the heat. When you're playing on a hard court, the heat is absorbed in the surface. So down there for us players, we feel probably even more heat than you would feel in the stands. And of course running," he said.

"It's hard to put down your heart rate, you know, and kind of control your breathing. It's very intense. The high level of tennis and intensity exerts a lot of effort, and you feel you're spending a lot of energy and you don't have much time to recover," he added.

After being well challenged by Taylor Fritz in the opening two sets, the 24-time Grand Slam champion disclosed that he had planned to stay in the contest long enough for the shade to come in and provide better playing conditions.

"Yeah, you could say so. I mean, I was looking forward to have the full shade on the stadium. It was a hot day," he said with a smile.

Djokovic will face either Jannik Sinner or Andrey Rublev in the semifinals of the 2024 Australian Open.