"Novak Djokovic is just as good as ever" - Taylor Fritz on Serb after losing their Australian Open QF match

Taylor Fritz's 2024 Australian Open campaign came to an end on Tuesday (January 23) after his quarterfinal loss to top-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-7(3), 6-4, 3-6, 3-6 in three hours and 48 minutes.

Although Fritz dropped the opening set in a close tiebreaker, he showed remarkable resilience in the second set. The American saved 15 out of 15 break points across the first two sets to level the match at one set all.

Fritz's level, however, dropped considerably towards the end of the match, and he eventually succumbed to the World No. 1 for the ninth time in his career.

Speaking to the press following his loss, Taylor Fritz was asked about his rivalry with Djokovic, which dates back to 2019, and whether the Serb has slowed down over the years. The 12th seed replied in the negative, claiming that his older opponent was "as good as ever" during their last-eight clash.

"No, from what I can recall from the first times we've played, to me, I think he's just as good as ever," Taylor Fritz said to the press after being asked whether the Serb showed any signs of weaknesses on Tuesday.

"Just the level of my serve decreased, and I needed it to be better" - Taylor Fritz on why he lost to Novak Djokovic

Yalor Fritz hits a forehand at the 2024 Australian Open

Taylor Fritz was also asked to elaborate on the reason behind the drop-off in his level in the last two sets. In response, the 26-year-old claimed that the late start to the quarterfinal match at the Australian Open and the weather conditions in Melbourne contributed to his game not being potent enough.

He also admitted that he couldn't find his spots on his first serve towards the end of the match.

"Yeah, the fact that we waited that long, to be honest, it cooled down quite a bit as the match went on. It was hot in the beginning, I think. The third and fourth, like, I definitely, my serve, just level of my serve decreased, and I needed it to be better..." Fritz said. "I just had some games where even I'd make first serves, but the spots on the serves would be awful. It can't be like that against him. He'll just return it."

Fritz added that the rallies were "really physical" during the match, making it hard to sustain a high level of tennis for a long time.

"Then also, I mean, there is a drop-off of, you know, it was two sets, but, I mean, I've played four sets in that time. It was two-and-a-half hours of really physical, like, really physical tennis. Yeah, it's tough to just sustain that level for, you know, probably two, three more hours that I needed to when I haven't really gotten to play at that level and play against that level that often," he added.

Taylor Fritz, however, can take pride in his Melbourne campaign, which marked only his third appearance in the quarterfinals of a Major tournament. The 26-year-old had previously reached the last eight at 2022 Wimbledon and the 2023 US Open, losing to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, respectively.