Novak Djokovic will now face his biggest test of the US Open so far in his pursuit of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
In the semifinals, Djokovic will take on Carlos Alcaraz for the ninth time in his career, in what marks their fifth meeting at a major event.
The Serb emerged victorious in their two most recent bouts in the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics last year, and in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier this season.
With a place in the final at Flushing Meadows up for grabs, the two will take to Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Naomi Osaka‘s former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, thinks Alcaraz will enter as the favourite.
Patrick Mouratoglou predicts who will win between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic
In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said of Djokovic: “Can he beat Carlos? Yes, he can. Is he the favourite? No, he’s not.
“Because if you look at the matches, Carlos from the first round to now, and Novak, Carlos looks above tennis-wise.
“But we know that a semi-final of a Grand Slam is not so much about the tennis, it’s about how much players want it, how competitive they are on the big points, and in which camp the pressure will be, because it’s going to affect the quality of the game.
“Remember this Olympic final in Paris on clay — he [Djokovic] really wanted it. It was a question of life or death for him. He beat Alcaraz, then beat him again at the Australian Open. He won the last two times they played, which means something.
“The fact that he reached the semi-final of all four Grand Slams this year shows that he’s still there, even though he got injured, even though his motivation was low — he was still in the semi-finals of the majors.
“I mean, tennis-wise, Carlos is better; he’s always impressive. But there is one little extra this year at the US Open. I would say it’s 55/45 for Carlos, because there are question marks about Novak’s motivation.”
Novak Djokovic’s increased rest time ahead of the US Open semifinals
After Djokovic defeated Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals of the US Open, he has been given an advantage ahead of the match with Alcaraz.
The 24-time major champion has struggled with his fitness towards the latter stages of Grand Slams this year, citing fatigue in his Wimbledon semifinal meeting with Jannik Sinner.
This time, however, due to changes in scheduling, he has had two days between his last eight and final four showdowns.
Though it will favour both players, it is likely to benefit Djokovic more, who needs the recovery time more than ever at 38 years of age.
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