On Friday, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime will try to produce tennis that matches the decibel levels produced by the US Open women’s semifinals. It won’t be easy. USOpen.org previews Day 12.
1. Novak Djokovic is peaking
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: It’s the second week of a major championship, and Novak Djokovic is playing his best tennis of the tournament. It’s happening again in Flushing Meadows.
“Best three sets I've played – second, third and fourth – in the tournament so far,” Djokovic said after his quarterfinal, in which he dropped the opening set against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.
Other players might feel dejected after dropping the first set, as Djokovic has done nine times in Grand Slam matches this year. But that’s not the case for the world No. 1.
“With him, it looks like he doesn't care. Actually he takes energy from that set that he lost,” Berrettini said.
The Serbian has now won 26 consecutive Grand Slam matches, and is only two away from winning a record-setting 21st major title and the calendar-year Grand Slam.
More evidence that Djokovic is peaking: From 2014-2020, he was 9-10 in Grand Slams after losing the first set, but this year, he is 9-0. “When I dropped the first set, I just went to a different level and I stayed there 'til the last point,” Djokovic said.
- Alexander Zverev knows what to do
Alexander Zverev doesn’t have to go back far in the memory bank to recall how to beat Djokovic. During their semifinal under the lights in Ashe, the fourth seed just has to mentally travel back to late July when he came back from a set and a break down to beat Djokovic in the Tokyo Olympics semifinal.
“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,” Zverev said.
The fourth-seeded German is 3-6 against Djokovic, including 2-5 on hard courts. But both hard-court wins came at big events: the Olympics and the 2018 ATP Finals. “I feel like I was the first player to beat him in a very big match this year. That does give you something,” Zverev said.
The 24-year-old is riding a 16-match win streak that started in Tokyo. Zverev will try to pull off perfection once more and make back-to-back US Open finals. He’d become the first men’s player to do so since Djokovic in 2015-16.
- Daniil Medvedev: Mr. Consistent
He’s had his rough patches in New York, but overall Daniil Medvedev has found the place quite friendly, really. The second-seeded Russian is the only men’s singles semifinalist making his third consecutive trip to the final four in Flushing Meadows.
Since 2018, Medvedev has been the ATP dean of hard-court tennis: He leads the tour in hard-court titles (11), finals (16) and wins (145). On Friday afternoon against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 25-year-old Medvedev will look to reach his third major final and second US Open title match. Medvedev fell in five sets to Rafael Nadal in the 2019 final.
“I like that I have this experience. I know how is it. I'm not gonna be tight,” Medvedev said. “After, it's a question about tennis. If I play good, it's going to be not easy for my opponent.”
Medvedev beat Auger-Aliassime in their only prior meeting, spoiling the Canadian’s 18th birthday in Toronto in 2018.
4. Felix & Leylah: Whatever you can do I can do better than you?
Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez are not only making Canadian tennis history at the US Open; they’re also producing millions of high-fives throughout Montreal, where both were born.
“I never thought a day like this would come. Both a little girl and a little boy from Montreal, both at the same time in the semifinals of the US Open,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It's special. It's special for us. I hope the people back home appreciate the moment also. We do a lot. It's great. But it would be amazing if we were both in a final, right?”
Fernandez, 19, kept up her side of the deal on Thursday night, becoming the second Canadian teenager to reach the women’s singles final in the past three years. Bianca Andreescu was also 19 when she won the 2019 US Open title.
If Auger-Aliassime beats Medvedev, he and Fernandez will become the first Canadian pair to reach the men’s and women’s singles finals at the same major championship.
Auger-Aliassime also will try to become the first Canadian man to reach the US Open final in tournament history (since 1881) and only the second Canadian Grand Slam men’s singles finalist after Milos Raonic at 2016 Wimbledon.
“I need to serve well. I need to play a great match, be solid from every aspect of my game,” Auger-Aliassime said. “At the same time I need to try to put pressure on him. But it's going to be tough. I need to be ready for his best.”
- Great Britain champion awaits in men’s doubles
An American, two Brits and a Brazilian will battle for the 2021 US Open men’s doubles title when fourth seeds Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (Great Britain) meet seventh seeds Jamie Murray (Great Britain) and Bruno Soares (Brazil).
It’s the first time two British men will face each other in a major doubles final in the Open era. Ram and Salisbury are seeking their second major title after winning the 2020 Australian Open title. Murray and Soares are going for their third major title overall and second US Open crown (2016).
Ram and Salisbury won their only prior meeting in the 2021 Australian Open semifinals. “I think we believe that, yeah, we play our best tennis in the big moments, at the big tournaments,” Salisbury said.
