Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 in the US Open semi-final on Friday at Flushing Meadows, New York, to keep himself on course for his sixth Grand Slam victory and to reclaim the top spot in the ATP rankings.
Reaching his fifth major final and second in New York, the 22-year-old Spaniard exacted revenge on Djokovic for losing to him at the Australian Open this year and the 2024 Olympics in Paris in an engrossing two-hour and 25-minute match at the Arthur Ashe stadium.
In the final, he will face reigning winner Jannik Sinner, who defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 25th seed from Canada, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second semifinal.
“It’s a great feeling (to be back in the final, after winning the title in 2022). It feels amazing; it means a lot to me. Not the best level of the tournament for me but I served well which was important. I tried to play a physical match and I think I did it,” Alcaraz said after the match.
In Friday afternoon’s eagerly awaited intergenerational match, Alcaraz took the first set. In the first game he broke the serve of the 38-year-old Serb, flying out of the blocks.
The second seed won the set 6-4 in 48 minutes by playing with good depth and tenacity and scored at key times.
In this year’s Australian Open quarterfinal, Djokovic had overcome a set deficit to defeat Alcaraz, and it appeared like he would demonstrate the perseverance that won him the match when he broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead.
Alcaraz dropped his serve for the second time in this tournament. The Spaniard, however, came back from 0-3 and broke back in the fifth game to put the set back on serve before winning it via the tie-breaker 7-6(4). He was hoping to become just the fifth man in the Open Era to reach seven Grand Slam finals before turning 23 and join an elite group that includes Jim Courier, Rafael Nadal, Mats Wilander, and Bjorn Borg.
For Alcaraz, the third set was easy. In the fourth game, Djokovic broke to take a 3-1 lead after being down 15-30 on his serve. In order to make it 5-2, he then served out a love game in the eighth. He had yet to lose a set in the event, so after finishing the match, he took another break and celebrated with a golf swing.
