Nick Kyrgios (left) interviews 10-time Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic (right) after the latter's semifinal win at the tournament
Novak Djokovic of Serbia is interviewed by Nick Kyrgios after the former's quarterfinals singles match against Taylor Fritz of the United States during the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Jan. 23, 2024. Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic bested American Taylor Fritz in four sets at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday, inching closer to an 11th Australian Open championship and 25th overall grand slam tournament win. Djokovic won the quarterfinal contest 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Following the match, Djokovic, 36, was met on the court for an interview by Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios, whose career has been placed on hold for long stretches over the past year due to multiple injury-related issues, including the small tear and cyst in his left knee that forced him to undergo arthroscopic surgery in January of 2023.

"So, Novak ... I never thought I'd be here, by the way," Kyrgios said to a grinning Djokovic. "Well done. That was an incredible performance. Taylor has improved his game so much.


"You're gunning for an 11th title here," Kyrgios continued. "What keeps you going right now in front of these fans?"

"Yeah, I need the mic," Djokovic quipped, making the crowd laugh as the amateur interviewer handed him the mic. "Good to see you, man. Great to see you.

"Looking good in that booth, but looking better here (on the court), hopefully with a racket also soon," Djokovic added, generating cheers from Kyrgios' fellow Aussies. "Yeah, we miss Nick. Come on, guys. Show him some love."

"Ah, what was the question about?" the momentarily confused Serbian asked as the crowd settled down, before gathering himself. "I suffered a lot the first couple of sets, also due to (Fritz's) high quality tennis. He was serving well, he was staying close to the line, he was really kind of suffocating me from (the back) of the court. I was, you know, most of the rallies on my back foot."

Djokovic stepped up his performance against the 26-year-old Fritz in the third set, winning it 6-2, and was just as dominant in the fourth and final set (6-3) to close out the match.

The 24-time grand slam champion will play Italian Jannik Sinner, 22, on Thursday in the semifinal. Sinner won his quarterfinal match on Tuesday versus Russian Andrey Rublev, 26, in three sets (6-4, 7-6, 6-3).