Semifinals: No.1 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. No. 4 Alexander Zverev (GER)
Arthur Ashe Stadium — Night Session
- This is Novak Djokovic’s 12th US Open semifinal and his 42nd Grand Slam semifinal overall. He is two victories away from winning an all-time record 21st major championship and completing the Grand Slam. The three-time US Open men’s singles champion has been rounding into form during the US Open fortnight and played his best tennis of the tournament in his last match, taking command of the final three sets of his quarterfinal clash with Matteo Berrettini to advance to the semifinals. “Result is something that I can’t predict,” Djokovic said of his upcoming match with Alexander Zverev, “but I can definitely put myself in the best possible state of mind and body to perform as well as I can. . . . When we face each other, there’s nerves, a lot of things on the line. It could go both ways. I think very few points will really determine the winner there. Let’s see what happens.”
- Alexander Zverev is playing in the US Open semifinals for the second consecutive year. He came within two points of winning the US Open championship last year over Dominic Thiem in the title match. Zverev, 24, has lost only one set through his first five matches at this year’s US Open and is on a 16-match winning streak post-Wimbledon, a run that encompasses his Olympic gold-medal triumph last month at the Tokyo Games (where he defeated Djokovic in the semifinals) and his ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati. He is bidding to join Andy Murray as the only men to win Olympic gold and the US Open title in the same season. “You have to be perfect, otherwise you will not win,” Zverev said of Friday's semifinal showdown with Novak Djokovic. “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.”
Watch: Djokovic vs. Zverev, SF Preview
