Djokovic moved within one win of reaching a men’s record 21 Grand Slam titles and avenged his loss to Zverev at the Tokyo Olympics in front of a roaring crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, with Rod Laver, the last person to complete a calendar slam 52 years ago, looking on.
He will face Russian Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final, after the world number two sent off 21-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in his semi-final.
The top two players in the world with history on the line.It doesn’t get any better than this. https://t.co/r6ZlGLaWXo
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) 1631329690000
Djokovic handed the German his first break of the night with a double fault in the first set but otherwise showed no mercy, firing off 41 winners and a dozen aces across the entire match.
Arthur Ashe Stadium: the court where dreams are made. https://t.co/HAaAMwDCaf
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) 1631330507000
The third set was a matter of survival of the fittest. Djokovic had a 40-0 head start in the tenth game only to see Zverev fend off two break points through marathon rallies, including a 53-shot exchange, before he broke the German’s serve for the set point.
Legend status https://t.co/M5gSwOB5Ee
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) 1631330410000
Tied at two sets a piece, Djokovic won a 30-shot rally for the early break, but after fending off four break points saw Zverev convert in the seventh game. He broke Zverev’s serve in the next game before hoisting his arms aloft to wild cheers from the crowd.
