Novak Djokovic is in the New York final for the tenth time and has ended the Americans’ hope of their first home win in 20 years.
The 36-year-old Grand Slam record winner from Serbia prevailed in the semifinals of the US Open on Friday with 6:3, 6:2, 7:6 (7:4) against outsider Ben Shelton, who is 16 years his junior.
Djokovic, who will become world number one again after the tournament, is targeting his 24th major title.
In the final on Sunday (10:00 p.m. CEST/Sportdeutschland.TV), the three-time tournament winner could face the next exciting duel with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who, however, still has to overcome a difficult semi-final task against the Russian Daniil Medvedev, champion of 2021. Alcaraz prevailed against Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
In his 100th singles match at the US Open, Djokovic had to fend off the force of Shelton, who had hit speeds of up to 239 kilometers per hour over the course of the tournament and was getting ever closer to the first triumph of an American since Andy Roddick in 2003.
Both professionals faced each other for the first time – and Djokovic set the course for victory right from the start in the duel with the youngest semi-finalist from the USA since Michael Chang in 1992.
The Serb repeatedly took advantage of his opponent’s numerous avoidable mistakes and marched to victory in the third set despite a celebrated rally from Shelton.