WHAT HAPPENED: Novak Djokovic inched a little closer to history on Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the top seed and world No. 1 defeated Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the 12th US Open semifinal of his career.
The Serbian is now just two wins shy of completing the calendar-year Grand Slam, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in men’s tennis in more than half a century. Australian Rod Laver was the last man to sweep all four majors in a single season (1969).
Djokovic, 34, extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 26 matches and he remains unbeaten in US Open quarterfinals. He also closed in on what would be a record-setting 21st major title, snapping the 20-20-20 deadlock with career-long rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“It was a great match. A lot of energy on the court, off the court as well,” said Djokovic, who owns the record for overall weeks at No. 1 (337 and counting). “Matteo is a terrific player, an established Top 10 player. Every time we face each other, it’s always a close battle. It wasn’t any different tonight. When I lost the first set, I managed to forget about it, kind of be in the moment. I was dialed in, locked in from the beginning of the second set. I put my tennis to a different level. It’s been the best three sets I’ve played in the tournament so far, for sure.”
Berrettini, 25, did his best to emulate another Italian, Roberta Vinci, who on this same court in 2015 halted American Serena Williams’ attempt at the calendar-year Slam with arguably the greatest upset in US Open history. But the task proved too great.
Tonight's match marked Djokovic and Berrettini's third encounter of 2021, a rematch of the Roland Garros quarterfinals and the Wimbledon final. Berrettini fell to 0-4 against Djokovic and remains winless (0-6) against Top 10 competition at the majors.
Djokovic had dropped the opening set in each of his last two matches, so there was no sign of panic when the three-time champion again found himself down a set on Day 10. With the Serb serving at 5-all, 30-40 in the one-hour and 16-minute opener, Berrettini scampered into the corner and came up with a thunderous cross-court forehand pass for the first break of the match. He would then consolidate for the set.
Djokovic struck back for 3-1 in the second, and added another service break four games later to level the contest at one set apiece.
Djokovic has dubbed Berrettini the "Hammer of Tennis," and for good reason. The Rome native is among the heaviest hitters on the ATP Tour, especially from the forehand side. But despite the power display, the Italian soon found himself in a 0-3 hole to start the third set, which due to the threat of rain would be finished under a closed roof.
A forehand pass with his opponent serving at 0-1, 30-40 in the final set would all but seal the match for Djokovic, who after a slow start had settled into his elite form. He would finish with 44 winners to 28 unforced errors. Berrettini led the way with 17 aces in the losing effort.
WHAT IT MEANS: Djokovic will have an opportunity to avenge his loss to Alexander Zverev at the Summer Games when he faces the fourth seed in the semifinals. The Serb was eying the so-called Golden Slam—all four majors plus Olympic gold—but fell to the German in the semis in Tokyo, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.
“Against him, you prepare to play the best match that you can,” said Zverev, who’s 3-6 against Djokovic. “You have to be perfect, otherwise you will not win. Most of the time, you can’t be perfect. That’s why most of the time people lose to him. Against him, you have to win the match yourself. You have to be the one that is dominating the points. You have to do it with very little unforced errors.”
Zverev, who set a two-sets-to-love lead slip away last year in the US Open final (where he lost to Dominic Thiem, 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6), says he’s a different player since his gold-medal run this summer.
“It’s the biggest tournament in the world, Tokyo. It’s the Olympics,” he said. “Winning there against the world No. 1, especially since I was down a set and a break, being kind of out of the match, then coming back, it was different than the other matches. The emotions were different. This year, it seems like nobody can beat him in a big match, nobody can beat him at the Grand Slams. I feel like I was the first player to beat him in a very big match. That does give you something.”
Zverev advanced with a straight-sets, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4, win over South African Lloyd Harris on Wednesday.
MATCH POINT: Djokovic is now 44-3 lifetime against Italian opponents, including 15-1 in Grand Slam tournaments. His only Slam loss came against Marco Cecchinato in the 2018 Roland Garros quarterfinals.
