World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev upset No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz within the US Open Friday night and has superior to face Novak Djokovic within the males’s remaining on Sunday. This might be a repeat of the 2021 remaining, when Medvedev took down the Serbian veteran in straight units.
That was the match during which Medvedev earned his lone Grand Slam title. Djokovic, in the meantime, might be in search of his twenty fourth main trophy.
Medvedev didn’t defend his title final yr after shedding to Nick Kyrgios within the Spherical of 16, however he has clearly moved on from that disappointing end result. He had struggled in opposition to Alcaraz of their two earlier matches this yr, however Medvedev beat the younger Spanish star 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on Friday night.
Djokovic, presently ranked No. 2 on the planet, gained the primary semifinal of the evening by taking down unseeded American Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). The veteran already gained the US Open in 2011, 2015 and 2018, however he’s nowhere close to slowing down as he will get prepared for his thirty sixth profession Grand Slam remaining.
Friday’s win additionally helped Djokovic reached the ultimate of all 4 Grand Slams in a single season for the third time in his profession, with the opposite two occurring in 2015 and 2021.
No. 2 Novak Djokovic def. Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
Shelton had been the the youngest American man to succeed in the semifinals of the US Open since Michael Chang in 1992. Falling to Djokovic means the US has gone one other yr with out a man profitable a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick in 2003, or reached a remaining since 2009.
Djokovic took management early within the match and gained the final 4 video games of the second set. It appeared like he had the third within the bag however Shelton needed to go down swinging and made it a real battle on the finish. The American rising star turned heads with a 149 mph serve earlier within the match, however he had performed extra conservatively in opposition to Djokovic.
Shelton lastly registered a 145 mph serve within the third set and fought onerous sufficient to drive a tiebreak. Sadly for him, his opponent was a veteran who is aware of easy methods to hold his composure. Djokovic entered this tiebreak with a 24-5 document and added one other win in opposition to the younger American.
“These are the type of matches and events that I nonetheless thrive on. They nonetheless get me going and encourage me to get up and work onerous just like the younger guys,” stated Djokovic throughout his on-court interview. “Grand Slams are the events that inspire me essentially the most to play my greatest tennis.”
“I have been blessed to essentially play this sport for thus a few years, and I’ve achieved rather a lot however I nonetheless really feel I’ve one thing in my legs left. I nonetheless really feel I’ve one thing to provide to the game.”
No. 3 Daniil Medvedev def. No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Medvedev misplaced to Alcaraz on the Indian Wells remaining and Wimbledon semifinals earlier this yr, however he made some changes and began Friday’s match robust.
The primary set went to a tiebreak, and Medvedev got here out victorious to win his first set in opposition to Alcaraz in 2023. He saved the momentum going and gained the primary three video games of the second set.
It appeared he was going to win a fourth consecutive one however Alcaraz pushed again to win one. Medvedev did not let that shake him and went on to take the set 6-1, which put him in a great place as he had been 25-0 after wining the primary two units on the US Open. In the meantime, Alcaraz had by no means come again from two units right down to win.
Alcaraz took a rest room break and might need given himself a pep speak as a result of he went on to win the third set. The fourth one was very aggressive. Medvedev discovered a 4-2 lead after a sport that took about 12 minutes. He then rapidly gained the following one, however Alcaraz made the final one very tough discovering the benefit a couple of occasions.
“Superb, particularly beating somebody like Carlos,” Medvedev stated on the court docket when requested what it meant to be again within the US Open remaining. “I misplaced to 2 occasions simple in opposition to him this yr, so earlier than the match for positive there have been quite a lot of doubts.”
“I stated I wanted to play 11 out of 10. I performed 12 out of 10 besides the third set. That is the one means … To beat him, you’ll want to be higher than your self.”
