Carlos Alcaraz is back in the US Open final after a dominant straight-sets victory against 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday afternoon.
The 2022 US Open champion was full value for his 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory in two hours and 23 minutes against a 38-year-old opponent who looked every bit his age by the match’s conclusion.
Alcaraz, despite being 16 years younger than his opponent, had actually lost four of his last five meetings with Djokovic but produced a clinical performance to book his place in Sunday’s final against the winner of Friday night’s semi-final between Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Alcaraz is yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament, becoming the first man since Roger Federer in 2015 to reach the US Open final without the loss of a set.
The Spaniard was not at his very best on Friday, producing 30 unforced errors throughout, but it was his ability to consistently hit winners from the baseline and win points behind his serve that proved the difference against an opponent who noticeably tired after losing the second set.
“It wasn’t the best level,” Alcaraz said in an on-court interview after seeing off Djokovic. “I served pretty well, which was really, really important.”
Alcaraz did produce an impressive 31 winners on Friday – more than double Djokovic’s tally – and was ruthless when it mattered most, particularly at the beginning of the first set.
Djokovic, who started sluggishly, was broken in the very first game of the set as Alcaraz put his serve under relentless pressure, obliterating the Serb’s second serve in the early stages.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, was near-flawless on his own serve and did not face a single break point in the entire set as he comfortably saw out the opening set in 47 minutes.
Djokovic, however, had shown signs of improvement toward the end of the set and started the second set on the front foot.
He pounced in Alcaraz’s firsts service game of the set when the Spaniard produced an uncharacteristically loose game to hand Djokovic a break point.
Djokovic converted his first – and only – break point of the match when he somehow produced a stunning lob with Alcaraz waiting at the net. Alcaraz reached that shot but fired a backhand long later in the rally to hand Djokovic the break. It was only the second time in the entire tournament that Alcaraz had dropped his serve.
It did not take long for the Spaniard to shake off that sluggish start, however, and the set was quickly back on serve when Alcaraz produced an outright flicked passing winner to bring up break point and draw applause from Djokovic, who sent a forehand long on the very next point to get back on track in the set.
It would be the last break point that either player enjoyed in the second set as the set hurtled toward a tiebreaker.
In an unusual tiebreaker where both players found it easier to win points on their opponent’s serve, it was Alcaraz’s ability to win back-to-back points on his own serve while leading 5-4 that proved crucial as the 2022 US Open champion moved into a two-set lead.
The Djokovic of old would have relished such circumstances, having come back from two sets down in countless matches throughout his career.
This, however, is not the Djokovic of old and the 38-year-old looked his age in the third set, handing Alcaraz an early break courtesy of a double-fault.
Speaking afterward, Djokovic said he felt like he had enough energy to “battle” with Alcaraz for two sets but felt he could not keep up with his opponent as the match moved into a third set.
He never looked close to breaking back and looked increasingly labored as the set – and match – drifted toward an inevitable conclusion, with Alcaraz breaking again in the eighth and final game of the set as Djokovic moved gingerly around the court.
A philosophical Djokovic said afterward that it is difficult to see how he can compete against Alcaraz and World Number 1 Jannik Sinner in best-of-five sets grand slam matches.
Djokovic has suffered straight-sets semi-final defeats against either Alcaraz or Sinner in each of his last three grand slam appearances and said Friday that both players are “too good.”
“Best-of-five makes it very, very difficult for me to play them, particularly at the end stages of grand slams,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic, however, said he still looks forward to participating in all four grand slams next year and hinted that he would be open to playing more best-of-three set tournaments in 2026.
“I’m happy with my level of tennis,” Djokovic said. “It’s just the physicality of it.”
