On Tuesday, Novak Djokovic overcame Taylor Fritz to advance to his 11th Australian Open semifinal and his record-tying 48th Grand Slam final. Coco Gauff was also obliged to persevere under intense heat.

The 12th-seeded American was put to the test by the Serbian superstar, who prevailed 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 at Rod Laver Arena to maintain his hopes of winning a 25th major championship.

On a day when the temperature reached 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit), Novak Djokovic, who usually has the evening slot on center court, was moved to the afternoon, and the world number one acknowledged it was difficult.

After the arduous three hours and forty-five minute ordeal, he expressed, "Physically and emotionally very draining,"adding that he "suffered a lot" in the first two sets.

"He was serving well, staying close to the line and kind of suffocating me from the back of the court," he said.

"I think I upped my game probably midway through the third set all the way to the end."

The 36-year-old will face either Italian fourth seed Jannik Sinner or Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev next, with the omens not good for either man.

Djokovic has won all 10 previous semi-finals he has played at Melbourne Park, stretching back to his first title in 2008.

Error-strewn US Open champion Gauff was also put through her paces before outlasting unseeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk after more than three scrappy hours 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (3/7), 6-2.

To advance to the final, she will face either the fiercely competitive reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka or Barbora Krejcikova, ranked ninth.
However, the 19-year-old's poor serve and numerous missed opportunities will hardly instill dread in the minds of her opponents.

- Bad match -

She admitted it was below-par, giving herself only a 'C' rating.
"Hopefully got the bad match out of the way and I can play even better," she said.
The low standard was not confined to Gauff, with the pair making a staggering 107 unforced errors between them -- there were 16 service breaks.

Kostyuk rued missing her chances, letting slip a 5-1 lead and squandering set points in the first set, but said she was proud of how she fought.

"Very proud of myself. I won for myself today, and I think it's the most important thing," said the 21-year-old, who has been vocal at the tournament about keeping people's focus on the conflict in her homeland.

Gauff also faltered at crunch moments, broken when serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set before keeping her cool as Kostyuk became more agitated in the deciding set.

It extended her winning streak this year to 10 matches after she won at Auckland in the lead up, and her unbeaten run at Grand Slams to 12 after her title-winning exploits at Flushing Meadow.

"Really proud of the fight I showed today," said the American, who had never progressed beyond the fourth round at Melbourne Park in four previous attempts.

"I really fought and left it all on the court."

When she plays Sabalenka, who has been merciless thus far in Melbourne, giving up just 11 games in her quest for another title, she will have to step it up.

However, the 2021 French Open champion Krejcikova, who hasn't advanced past the final eight at Melbourne Park, is expected to give the second-ranked Belarusian player a serious test.

"We had a lot of matches, Barbara. She is a highly talented musician. I believe she's returning from injury, which makes her really driven. Always a hard fight," she remarked.

End//voice7news.tv