The men’s and women’s semifinals are fast taking shape at the 2025 US Open. USOpen.org highlights some of the best he-said/she-said moments from the quarterfinal round at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with thoughts from Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jessica Pegula, Felix Auger-Aliassime and more:
“We don’t need to spend words on the two of them. We know that they are two of the best players in the world. Everybody is probably expecting and anticipating the finals between the two of them. I’m going to try to mess up the plans of most of the people.” — Novak Djokovic on the Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz rivalry
“I think that today I kind of met the Grand Slam version of Carlos.” — Jiri Lehecka after his 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz
“Between points is really important, as well. We’re playing two kinds of matches at the same time. It is the match of playing the points, and the match behind the scenes, let’s say. So the body language, how you show the opponents how you feel, is really important.” — Carlos Alcaraz
“I guess I surprised myself. I always come back to the fact that I’m pretty confident with who I am, and I think I’ll always back myself and figure things out in the end instead of spiraling and letting it go too far. I definitely do that a little bit, but I think I always catch myself just in time. That’s kind of what I’ve been able to do for the last four or five years, being a top player. I feel like I can always come back to the fact that I can figure it out in the end, and that always kind of hits me in the toughest moments of the year.” — Jessica Pegula
“It doesn’t matter if you feel exhausted, you feel really tired, you feel like you cannot keep it going. If you show the opponent you’re fresh, you’re able to play two, three, more hours, to play long rallies, it’s giving him the mindset of this is going to be really tough. The way that I walk between points, with attitude, like I’m fresh, I’m really good physically. I think it’s really important to show the opponent that they are going to sweat a lot, and they are going to have to run a lot if he wants to beat me.” — Carlos Alcaraz
“Seeing Venus playing on court for joy just kind of brought me back to why I started playing tennis. It’s probably the most important thing that I started playing tennis for, the love of the game and for bringing joy on court, not only for myself but also for the fans.” — Leylah Fernandez
“I think that the state of women’s doubles is in a really, really cool space.” — Taylor Townsend
“That’s one of the things that makes the great players great. They win the big points.” — Taylor Fritz
“Right now, I’m looking at this like a wasted opportunity. It’s tough. There’s no other way I’m probably going to deal with this, but just seeing it straight, and that’s what today was. Today was an opportunity to break new ground. I was nowhere near the level I needed to be at. That’s frustrating, because you don’t get these chances often.” — Alex de Minaur after his 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5, 7-6(4) quarterfinal loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime
“When you win, you give yourself time to improve and to give it another chance to play even better. That’s what I’ll remember from today.” — Felix Auger-Aliassime, into his first US Open semifinal in four years
“It’s very tough when you have worked so hard for something and you constantly are putting yourself in positions to prove people wrong, yet again, you kind of fall. Especially this time, it’s a tough one to take. There is no beating around the bush: It’s one of those matches that I would love to play again. I feel like this one was on my racquet, and it is a shame. I don’t know how I’ll handle it. I'm definitely, as of right now, seeing red.” — Alex de Minaur, who fell to 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals
