World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz is looking forward to playing against Novak Djokovic in the US Open semifinals, and he would be eyeing his revenge. Earlier in the season, Alcaraz suffered an Australian Open quarterfinal loss against the Serbian despite winning the opening set.
Djokovic leads Alcaraz by 5-3 in Lexus ATP Head2Head, and the Spaniard would be looking to get his fourth win. Alcaraz hasn’t yet dropped a set in the ongoing New York Major whereas Djokovic is surely finding his A-game as the tournament has gone deeper.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will play his 53rd Major semifinal on Friday and he would look to make the most of his experience.
“Novak, we all know Novak’s game… It doesn’t matter that he has been out of the Tour since Wimbledon. [He’s] playing great matches here. I know he’s hungry. I know his ambition for more, so let’s see,” said Alcaraz. “I know I played a lot of times against him. I really want revenge. That’s obvious.”
On the other hand, Djokovic played a thrilling four-set contest against previous edition’s runners-up, Taylor Fritz, and said it would be imperative for him to recover and be ready for a five-set marathon against Alcaraz.
“The next couple of days is really key for me to really get my body in shape and ready to battle five sets if it’s needed. would love to be fit enough to play and to play potentially five sets with Carlos,” said Djokovic, who leads Alcaraz 5-3 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “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 in the next few days. 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.”
The semifinal between Alcaraz and Djokovic will be played on Friday.