Djokovic-Alcaraz rivalry set for Grand Slam milestone that Federer and Nadal failed to achieve
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will face each other for a ninth time on the ATP Tour when they play in the semi-final of the US Open and their latest meeting will also see them achieve a remarkable milestone.
24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic defeated Taylor Fritz in four sets to set up a last-four encounter against Alcaraz, who earlier in the day brushed aside Jiri Lecheka in straight sets, at the hard-court major.
Although it will be the ninth head-to-head meeting of their rivalry, it will be the first time that they face each other at the US Open and that has helped them to unlock a new landmark in Grand Slams as they will have met in all four majors when Friday arrives, something that eluded Roger Federer and Nadal.
Federer and Nadal faced each other 40 times, but none of those meetings came at the US Open.
Djokovic and Alcaraz met in the semi-final of the French Open in 2023, in back-to-back finals at Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024 and in the semi-final of this year’s Australian Open. They will now complete the set at Flushing Meadows, and they have done it in just three years.
On top of that, they have also met at the Olympics – with Djokovic winning their gold medal match in the final of the 2024 Paris Games – and in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals.
Novak Djokovic News
Novak Djokovic credits ‘divine intervention’ for one of his biggest career victories
The 5 men with the most Grand Slam appearances: Djokovic closes in on No 1
Djokovic leads his head-to-head with Alcaraz 5-3 following his wins at the Paris Olympics last August and the Australian Open at the start of the year.
He has also reached the semi-final of all four majors this year – something he has achieved for a seventh time in his career – but is yet to make it into a final as he retired from his match against Alexander Zverev at Melbourne Park and lost against Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
“I’ve been very consistent, mostly consistent on the Slams this season, and that’s what I said at the beginning of the year, where I would like to perform my best tennis and make the best results,” he said.
“So here we are. You know, I have another chance and another shot. Hopefully, as I said, I can be fit enough and play well enough to. To. To keep up with. With Carlos and. And then it can be anybody’s match.”
Djokovic has also drawn level with Jimmy Connors for the most semi-final appearances at the US Open as he has reached the last four a 14th time.
Aged 38 years and 94 days, the Serbian is also the oldest man in Open Era history to reach all four semi-finals at Grand Slam events in a season.
