Following losses in the Paris Olympics final and the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinals, Alcaraz avenged those defeats to reach his first hard-court Grand Slam final since the 2022 US Open. He will face top seed Jannik Sinner or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the men's singles final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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Djokovic (left) congratulates Alcaraz after their US Open semifinal match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York on 5/9. _Photo: Reuters_ |
Djokovic had hoped to disrupt a potential rematch between Alcaraz and Sinner. That mission became challenging early on when the Serbian player lost his first service game. This boosted Alcaraz's confidence, seemingly erasing the fact that he had never beaten Djokovic on a hard court before.
While serving has been Djokovic's lifeline in the latter stages of his career, Alcaraz is having his most effective serving Grand Slam tournament to date. The Spaniard won 84% of his first-serve points and 54% of his second-serve points, not losing a single service game against Djokovic. In fact, he has only dropped one service game throughout the entire tournament.
Djokovic occasionally pressured his younger opponent, but was ultimately powerless against Alcaraz's superior serving at crucial moments. In the first two sets, the final two points of each set were decided by Alcaraz's serves, earning him quick points to secure the sets. These were two consecutive points at 5-4, 30-30 in the first set and another two when the 22-year-old led 5-4 in the second set tie-break.
Alcaraz's two consecutive free points in that tie-break demoralized Djokovic. He lost the second set after leading 3-0 and delivering several impressive shots for the Arthur Ashe crowd. Djokovic entered the third set looking heavy and disheartened. The 38-year-old lost two more service games, quickly succumbing to a 2-6 defeat.
Alcaraz advances to his third consecutive Grand Slam final, and his eighth overall. If he wins the final in straight sets, he will become the first male player to win the US Open without dropping a set.
Vy Anh
