NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic took a two-set lead against Taylor Fritz , an opponent he always beats, to close in on the semifinals, a round he often reaches at the U.S. Open , and marked the occasion by blowing kisses to those in Tuesday night's crowd pulling for the last American man in the field.

That was just a taste of the back-and-forth between Djokovic and some of the folks in the Arthur Ashe Stadium seats, and there was still work that remained, but he would finish off a 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory. Djokovic improved to 11-0 against 2024 runner-up Fritz and reached a record-extending 53rd Grand Slam semifinal, a total that includes a record-tying 14 at Flushing Meadows.

The match ended anticlimactically with a double-fault by No. 4-seeded Fritz, whose exit means the U.S. droug

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