A year after Novak Djokovic could not travel to the United States for the Open because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19, the 36-year-old from Serbia is one victory away from a fourth title in New York and 24th Grand Slam championship overall.
The No. 3-seeded Medvedev won his lone major championship at Flushing Meadows in 2021 by defeating 23-time Slam winner Djokovic in that year's title match. That prevented Djokovic from completing what would have been the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969.
On Sunday,
Djokovic will face 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who advanced by eliminating defending champ Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the second semifinal Friday night. Medvedev denied Djokovic a calendar-year Grand Slam by beating him in the final at Flushing Meadows two years ago.
"Well, the fact is that, at 36, every Grand Slam final could be the last one. So I think that I probably value these occasions and opportunities to win another Slam more than I have maybe 10 years ago,” said Djokovic, who would be the oldest man to win the
U.S. Open in the professional era, which began in 1968.
Even before the start of these two weeks, folks had been anticipating a Djokovic vs. Alcaraz showdown on the last day of the event. Theirs is an inter-generational rivalry — Djokovic is 36; Alcaraz 20 — that has fascinated the tennis world in recent months.
"I don't know how many I have ahead of me now.” He has made it to the finals of all four majors this season, with victories at the Australian Open in January and French Open in June.
If Djokovic does end up leaving with the hardware this time, he would break a tie with Serena Williams for the most major singles championships in the Open era. "It's another shot for history," said Djokovic, who was seeded No. 2 at the U.S. Open but will replace Alcaraz at No. 1 next week no matter what happens Sunday.
(With PTI inputs)
