Djokovic two wins from history after topping Berrettini in US Open last eight
Never fazed, rarely flummoxed, Novak Djokovic is so collected in best-of-fiveset matches even when falling behind, as he has done repeatedly at the US Open.
No opponent, or the prospect of what’s at stake, has been too much to handle. Not yet, anyway. And now he’s two wins away from the first calendaryear grand slam in men’s tennis since 1969, along with a men’s-record 21st major championship overall.
Djokovic ceded the opening set for the third consecutive match at Flushing Meadows – and ninth time at a major in 2021 – but again it didn’t matter, because he quickly corrected his strokes and beat the No 6 seed Matteo Berrettini 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in a quarter-final that began Wednesday night and concluded after midnight Thursday.
As he came back, his eyes squarely on his end goals, Djokovic found every angle, thwarted every big Berrettini shot and was so locked in he dove and dropped his racket during one exchange yet scrambled, rose and reinserted himself in the point. He lost it, but the message to his foe was unmistakable, essentially amounting to, “I will do whatever it takes.” After 17 unforced errors in the first set, Djokovic made a total of 11 the rest of the way.
When Berrettini made one last stand, holding a break point while trailing 4-2 in the third set, Djokovic steadied himself. He let Berrettini put a backhand into the net, then conjured up a 121mph ace and a forehand winner down the line to hold, then pointed his
right index finger to his ear – one of many gestures asking the 20,299 in the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands for noise.
Four minutes later, that set was his. And 42 minutes later, the match was. Djokovic is 26-0 in major tournaments this season, including trophies on the Australian Open’s hard courts in February, the French Open’s clay in June and Wimbledon’s grass in July, where he beat Berrettini in the final.
Djokovic has added five victories at Flushing Meadows and will face the 2020 runner-up, Alexander Zverev, in Friday’s semi-finals. If Djokovic can win that match and Sunday’s final, he will join Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) as the only men to claim all four major tennis singles trophies in one season.
Three women have done it, most recently Steffi Graf in 1988; Serena Williams’ bid in 2015 ended in the US Open semi-finals. One more slam title also will break the career mark Djokovic currently shares with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The world No 1 is only focused on his next match, and was quick to change the subject when asked about the calendar slam in his post-game courtside interview. “You don’t have to ask me anything about that,” said Djokovic. “I don’t want to think about it, I know it’s there, just focusing on the next match and let’s go step-by-step.”
In his later press conference, Djokovic took a similar stance. “I have had enough of answering that. I just said millions of times that, of course, I’m aware of the history, of course it gives me motivation. If I start to think about it too much, it burdens me mentally. I want to really go back to the basics and what works for me mentally.”
Zverev goes into the semi-finals on a 16-match winning streak, including a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 semi-final triumph against Djokovic en route to the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The No 4-seeded Zverev advanced to the semi-finals in New York on Wednesday afternoon by beating South Africa’s Lloyd Harris 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4.