2024 Australian Open: 'Tranced' Fritz beats Tsitsipas; Djokovic next in QFs

"I told you!"

That was Taylor Fritz's message to his team after earning his first Top 10 win at a Grand Slam, a 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday at the Australian Open. The American woke up full of confidence ahead of the matchup against the returning Melbourne finalist, and he delivered to reach his third Grand Slam quarterfinal.

In a high-quality contest against the Greek seventh seed, Fritz backed up strong serving with inspired baseline play in John Cain Arena. After keeping Tsitsipas pinned to his backhand corner in the rallies throughout, he bravely measured a slew of down-the-line backhand winners in a classy close to the match.

"I think start to finish I played really well," said Fritz, who will move back into the Top 10 next week. "Especially I'm super happy about the way I finished it. The last three games of the match I really, really turned it on, almost like was in a trance and everything. Just felt good.

"I felt like I knew exactly what shot to hit, the right decision to make on every ball. It's great. It's been a while since I've had that feeling, so it gives me a lot of confidence."

In addition to the firepower he brought on serve and with his ground game, Fritz also moved exceptionally well against Tsitsipas despite receiving treatment for blisters on his feet mid-match. His wheels will be given another test drive in the quarterfinals against none other than Novak Djokovic, the defending champion and world No. 1 who is bidding for a record-extending 11th AO singles crown and 25th Grand Slam title.

The pair also have history at the Australian Open. In the 2021 third round, Fritz appeared poised to come back from two sets down for a seismic upset. But despite dealing with an abdominal tear, Djokovic escaped with a 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 victory and went on to win the tournament.

After a dominant fourth-round win against France's Adrian Mannarino—a match in which he threatened a rare triple bagel before conceding three games in the final set—Djokovic said he was looking forward to a battle with either Fritz or Tsitsipas. With the matchup now set against the American, he and his team will be hard at work devising a gameplan to preserve his perfect record in their rivalry.

"Even though I know the guys, I still have to do my homework because everyone is trying to get better," he said of his scouting. "Especially the guys at the top, they want to move the bar at least 1 or 2 percent, or try different things, maybe disguise their flaws in the game and improve them so they're not as exposed in the certain shots."