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Never fazed, rarely flummoxed, Novak Djokovic is so collected in best-of-five-set matches even when falling behind, as he has done repeatedly at the U.S. 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 calendar-year 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 No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in a quarterfinal that began Wednesday night and concluded after midnight Thursday.
EMMA RADUCANU MAKES HISTORY AS SHE ADVANCES TO US OPEN SEMIFINALS
Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, motions and looks up after defeating Matteo Berrettini, of Italy, for the duration of the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open tennis match Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Afterward, Djokovic cut off a query at some point of his on-courtroom interview, sensing where it changed into headed, and said: "Do now not inquire from me something approximately history. I understand it’s there."
As he got here returned and improved to 26-zero in Grand Slam play this season, Djokovic discovered every perspective, thwarted every big Berrettini shot, and turned into so locked in he dove and dropped his racket in the course of one trade but scrambled, rose, and reinserted himself within the point. He misplaced it, but the message to his foe changed into unmistakable, essentially amounting to, "I will do whatever it takes."
After 17 unforced errors within the first set, Djokovic made a complete of 11 the relaxation of the manner.
"The high-quality 3 sets I’ve played within the match, for sure," he stated.
When Berrettini made one ultimate stand, holding a spoil factor whilst trailing four-2 in the 0.33 set, Djokovic steadied himself. He allow Berrettini positioned a backhand into the internet, then conjured up a 121 mph ace and a forehand winner down the road to maintain, then pointed his right index finger to his ear — one in all many gestures asking the 20,299 within the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands for noise.
Four mins later, that set become his. And 42 minutes later, the match turned into.
Djokovic already earned trophies on the Australian Open’s difficult courts in February, the French Open’s clay courts in June, and Wimbledon’s grass courts in July, defeating Berrettini in the final on the All England Club.
Djokovic has introduced five victories on the U.S. Open's tough courts and now faces 2020 runner-up Alexander Zverev in Friday's semifinals. If Djokovic can win that match and Sunday’s very last, he will be a part of Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) as the handiest guys to say all four major tennis singles trophies in one season. (Three women have performed it, maximum lately Steffi Graf in 1988; Serena Williams' bid in 2015 ended inside the U.S. Open semifinals).
One greater Slam title also will ruin the profession mark Djokovic presently stocks with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Zverev goes into the semifinals on a sixteen-match prevailing streak, including a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 semifinal triumph towards Djokovic en path to the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
"I'm pumped," Djokovic stated, looking beforehand to what awaits. "The larger the task, the greater glory in overcoming it."
The No. 4-seeded Zverev, a 24-12 months-antique German, advanced Wednesday afternoon by means of beating Lloyd Harris 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-four.
Hours later, both Djokovic and Berrettini showed symptoms of nerves on a muggy night with the temperature at 75 stages and the humidity at 80%. Applause, whistles and roars preceded the preliminary serve, a 124 mph ace with the aid of Djokovic, a 3-time U.S. Open champion.
Banned from the event a year in the past due to the coronavirus pandemic, fans are really playing being a part of all of this again.
They created a fugue of competing chants of Djokovic’s nickname, "No-le! No-le!" and a shortened version of Berrettini’s first name, "Mat-te! Mat-te!" Some greeted Djokovic’s missed serves with claps, considered a no-no on this game, and some — perhaps the identical parents — lamented Berrettini’s faults with a communal "Awwwww."
FOR 1ST TIME, NO US SINGLES PLAYERS IN US OPEN QUARTERFINALS
Djokovic’s shape changed into no longer at its greatest early, with greater errors than he may want to fathom — he rolled his eyes, put a palm to his brow, muttered towards the ones in his entourage.
Berrettini makes use of his 6-foot-5, 209-pound frame to generate punishing electricity in serves and forehands; Djokovic known as him the "Hammer of Tennis."
But if any player is geared up to dull that fashion, it’s Djokovic, whose instincts, reflexes, agility, and mobility are superior. So he, unlike most other gamers, can go back a 131 mph serve and not simply get it in play but achieve this with sufficient aim to cause a missed backhand by way of Berrettini, as occurred while Djokovic broke to guide 3-1 inside the 2d set.
Still, Berrettini did manipulate to deflect the pair of first-set destroy points he confronted with booming carrier winners — one at 132 mph, the opposite 134 mph — after which transformed his fourth possibility with a going for walks cross-court forehand winner to steer 6-five. One sport, and 4 set points, later, Berrettini owned the opener thanks to an errant forehand by Djokovic.
The fit already was 77 mins antique. Berrettini left for a bathroom spoil to change his clothes; Djokovic sat at the sideline, draped a white towel around his neck and began the technique of getting ready to show matters round, as he so regularly does.
"I controlled to forget about approximately it, move on," Djokovic stated.
He also lost the primary set in the third spherical, in opposition to Kei Nishikori, and within the fourth, towards Jenson Brooksby, earlier than winning in 4 both instances. Did that against Berrettini at Wimbledon, too.
Maybe, Djokovic joked after this fit, the early deficits amount to "accurate procedures, in a manner."
Didn’t take long for Djokovic to impose himself this time, either, thank you in huge part to cleaning up his act by using reducing down the mistakes, with three inside the 2nd set and 3 within the third, throughout which the retractable roof changed into close due to predicted rain.
Just protecting serve became a trial for Berrettini, so much in order that he let out a sigh of comfort whilst he eventually held upon getting broken three times in a span of four games throughout the middle units. By then, even though, he had given away the second one and had fallen behind three-0 within the 0.33. The fourth also reached that score, and Djokovic changed into one step closer to history.
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