Carlos Alcaraz out for ‘revenge’ but Novak Djokovic can nullify him again

Interestingly, Djokovic has been nowhere near as successful against Sinner, losing their past five encounters and winning only two of 15 sets contested. The theory is that Sinner, 24, has a more relentless and steady style of play that Djokovic has found difficult to break down, whereas Alcaraz is more prone to in-match fluctuations that offer opportunities for an opponent to take advantage of.

That said, Alcaraz has so far produced a run that is statistically his finest at a grand-slam tournament. For the first time he has reached the semi-finals of one of the sport’s four majors without losing a set, and has dropped serve only once in five matches. Whether this holds up amid the mental baggage of trying to avoid a third consecutive defeat by Djokovic remains to be seen.

“We all know Novak’s game,” Alcaraz said. “It doesn’t matter that he has been out of the tour since Wimbledon, he is playing great matches here. I know he’s hungry, I know his ambition for more, so let’s see.”

It is a tremendous achievement in itself that Djokovic has completed the full set of grand-slam semi-final appearances this year. Remember the fuss when Jimmy Connors battled his way to the last four of the US Open in 1991 at the age of 39, and consider that Djokovic, only a year younger, has done this across all four majors in the same season.

Now, having lost all three previous semis, Djokovic must try to disrupt the duopoly that is developing between Alcaraz and Sinner, who contested the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon this summer and shared a title apiece. There is also the urge to avoid the disappointment of falling short of a grand-slam final again, no matter the pride he takes in repeatedly getting so close.

“We know that they are two best players in the world,” Djokovic said. “Everybody is probably expecting and anticipating the finals between two of them. I’m going to try to mess up the plans of most of the people.

“They are playing definitely the best tennis of any player here. They have been a dominant force since the beginning of the tournament. But I am not going with a white flag on the court. I don’t think anybody does, really, when they play them, but particularly not me.

“I put myself in another semi-final of a grand-slam this year. I have been very consistent at the slams this season, and that’s what I said at the beginning of the year — it is where I would like to perform my best tennis and make the best results.

“Here we are, I have another chance, another shot. Hopefully I can be fit enough and play well enough to keep up with Carlos. Then it can be anybody’s match.”

One tactic that worked so well for Djokovic in Melbourne this year, under the guidance of Andy Murray, his coach at the time, was to trust that his ability to rally from the baseline with constant depth and pace would eventually frustrate Alcaraz and limit his shot-making potential. The question is whether the veteran has the legs to do this again in New York.

“I would love to be fit enough to play potentially five sets with Carlos,” Djokovic said. “I know that my best tennis is going to be required, but I’d rise to the occasion.

“Normally I like to play the big matches on a big stage. It’s just that I’m not really sure how the body is going to feel [between the quarter-final and semi-final]. But I’m going to do my very best with my team to be fit for that. There’s going to be a lot of running involved, that’s for sure. It’s not going to be short points.”

Whoever wins is likely to face Sinner in Sunday’s final. The 24-year-old Italian, who plays the Canadian No25 seed Félix Auger-Aliassime in the second semi-final on Friday, is playing so well here that he even took aback Lorenzo Musetti, his compatriot and friend, with his overwhelming dominance during a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 quarter-final victory.

“I never played someone who put me in this kind of rush in the rally,” Musetti, the world No10, said. “I didn’t have many chances in the rally, and he was always leading the rally.”

Novak Djokovic (7) v Carlos Alcaraz (2)

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