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 there could be the next exciting duel between the three-time tournament winner and 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.
Lots of mistakes from Shelton
In his 100th US Open match, Djokovic successfully countered the young US star’s aggressive style of play and made use of his experience. Although Shelton managed to score spectacular points, he made too many easy mistakes.
In addition, Djokovic had the right answer in the decisive phases, even if he weakened at times towards the end of the third round. He conceded two breaks, had to fend off a set point from Shelton and still kept his nerve in the tie-break. After 2:40 hours, Djokovic converted his second match point.
In the final he has the chance to extend his title record for men’s tennis and also draw level with Australian Margaret Court, who has the most Grand Slam triumphs among women. For Djokovic it is his 36th final at a major, which puts him well ahead of Roger Federer (31st) among the men.