Christopher Thomas
World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev defeated No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open on Friday night and advanced to face Novak Djokovic in the men’s final on Sunday. This will be a repeat of the 2021 final when Medvedev defeated the Serbian veteran in straight sets.
This was the tournament in which Medvedev won his only Grand Slam title. Djokovic, in turn, will be looking for his 24th major trophy.
Medvedev was unable to defend his title last year after losing to Nick Kyrgios in the round of 16, but has clearly overcome that disappointing result. He had fought Alcaraz in his previous two matches this year, but Medvedev beat the young Spanish star 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on Friday night.
Djokovic, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, won the first semi-final of the night by defeating American Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). The veteran has already won the US Open in 2011, 2015 and 2018, but is no closer to slowing down as he prepares for his 36th career Grand Slam final.
Friday’s victory also helped Djokovic reach the final of all four Grand Slams in one season for the third time in his career, with the other two coming in 2015 and 2021.
No. 2 Novak Djokovic defeated. Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
Shelton was the youngest American to reach the US Open semi-finals since Michael Chang in 1992. Falling to Djokovic means the US has gone another year without a man winning a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick in 2003, or reaching a final since 2009.
Djokovic took control early in the match and won the last four games of the second set. It looked like he had the third one up his sleeve, but Shelton wanted to go down and had a real battle at the end. The rising American star caught the eye with a 230km/h serve at the start of the tournament, but played more conservatively against Djokovic.
Shelton finally recorded a 145 mph serve in the third set and fought back enough to force a tiebreaker. Unfortunately for him, his opponent was a veteran who knows how to maintain his composure. Djokovic entered this tiebreak with a 24-5 record and added another victory over the young American.
“Those are the types of games and occasions I still enjoy. They still push me and inspire me to wake up and work hard like young people,” Djokovic said during his on-court interview. “Grand Slams are the occasions that most motivate me to play my best tennis.”
“I’ve been blessed to actually play this sport for so many years and I’ve accomplished a lot, but I still feel like I still have something left in my legs. I still feel like I have something to give to the sport.”
#3 Daniil Medvedev defeated. #1 Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Medvedev lost to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final and Wimbledon semifinals earlier this year, but made some adjustments and started Friday’s match strong.
The first set went to a tie-break and Medvedev emerged victorious by winning the first set against Alcaraz in 2023. He kept the momentum going and won the first three games of the second set.
It looked like he was going to win for the fourth time in a row, but Alcaraz pulled back to win. Medvedev was undeterred and won the set 6-1, which put him in a good position as he was 25-0 after winning the first two sets at the US Open. However, Alcaraz never came back from two sets down to win.
Alcaraz took a bathroom break and may have been excited because he won the third set. The fourth was very competitive. Medvedev took a 4-2 lead after a game that lasted around 12 minutes. Then he quickly won the next one, but Alcaraz made it very difficult for the last one to find the advantage a few times.
“Amazing, especially beating someone like Carlos,” Medvedev said on court when asked what it meant to be back in the US Open final. “I lost twice easily against him this year, so before the match there were definitely a lot of doubts.”
“I said I needed to play 11 out of 10. I played 12 out of 10, except the third set. That’s the only way… To beat him, you have to be better than yourself.”
