Novak Djokovic is just two matches away from the first men’s Grand Slam in 52 years, while simultaneously passing both Roger Federer and Rafael by winning his 21st Major overall. But in order to reach Sunday’s championship match, he must first overcome Sascha Zverev, who defeated Djokovic at the Tokyo Olympics. The other semifinal features three-time US Open semifinalist Daniil Medvedev against first-time Major semifinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Also on Friday, the men’s doubles championship match, as well as the women’s doubles semifinals.
Daniil Medvedev (2) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (12) – 3:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Their only previous meeting occurred three years ago at the Masters 1000 event in Auger-Aliassime’s home country, where the Russian prevailed in a third set tiebreak. Three years later, both are much more accomplished, developed players. A 68th-ranked Daniil had to qualify for that tournament, but since that time, he has achieved two Major finals and won four Masters 1000 tournaments, all on this surface. At that time, a 133rd-ranked Felix received a wild card into his country’s biggest event. While he is still yet to win a tour final (0-8, with no sets won in any of those finals), he has consistently improved his results. A win on Friday would catapult him into the top 10 for the first time. But Medvedev has become something of a hard court specialist. In 2021 he is 33-5 on this surface, and 4-1 in hard court semifinals, with his only loss coming last month to fellow Russian Andrey Rublev. Aside from one set allocated to Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarterfinals, he has thoroughly thumped all comers this fortnight. Felix’s serve can be quite formidable, but Daniil’s deep return position will prevent him from striking many aces. It would be pretty surprising if Medvedev failed to reach his third Major final.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Sascha Zverev (4) – 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
When Serena Williams was going for the Grand Slam at the 2015 US Open, this is the round where she stumbled. Will the same happen to Novak Djokovic? In Tokyo, Djokovic was up a set and a break when Zverev upped his level, eventually prevailing 6-1 in the third to prevent any chance of Novak achieving the Golden Slam. Can the German now prevent Djokovic from achieving the Grand Slam? Overall Djokovic leads Zverev 6-3, and 5-2 on hard courts. At Majors, it’s 2-0 Novak, which includes a four-set victory in this year’s Australian Open quarterfinals. Prior to the Olympics, Djokovic had claimed their last four meetings. Sascha is now on a 16-match win streak, having prevailed in both Tokyo as well as Cincinnati. He’s only dropped one set this week (three less than Novak), with no match lasting more than two-and-a-half hours. For a player who previously suffered from prolonged early-round matches at Slams, that is a critical improvement. A fully-fresh Zverev, who has seemingly overcome the second-serve issues of his recent past, could be the biggest challenge Djokovic has faced on his Grand Slam quest since Stefanos Tsitsipas won the first two sets of the French Open final. But as we saw on Wednesday night, no one has mastered the best-of-five format like Novak. He has full confidence in his ability to wear down and outlast all opposition, even after falling behind, as he has in his last three matches at this tournament. I fully expect Djokovic to compete in his ninth US Open final on Sunday, and play one match for history.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury (4) vs. Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares (7) – Ram and Salisbury are looking for their second Major title, as they also won last year’s Australian Open. Murray and Soares won two Majors together in 2016, including this event, and Soares also won last year’s US Open alongside Mate Pavic.
Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk (7) vs. Sam Stosur and Shuai Zhang (14) – Krawczyk was a mixed doubles champion at this year’s Roland Garros and Wimbledon with two different partners, and was a finalist at last year’s French Open with Guarachi. Stosur and Shuai won the 2019 Australian Open, and were champions just a few weeks ago in Cincinnati.
Garbiela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani (5) vs. Coco Gauff and Katy McNally (11) – Stefani won a bronze medal in Tokyo with Laura Pigossi, and then partnered with Dabrowski to win in Montreal. Gauff and McNally have won three tour titles, but are looking to reach their first Major final. They upset the top seeds, Elise Mertens and Su-Wei Hsieh, in the last round.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
