Carlos Alcaraz seeks revenge on Novak Djokovic in a high-stakes US Open semi-final
Carlos Alcaraz has set his sights on revenge as he prepares for a blockbuster US Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic.
The 22-year-old Spaniard has not dropped a set in New York and carries an 11-match winning streak into Friday’s clash, yet he knows the scale of the challenge ahead. Djokovic has beaten him in their last two marquee meetings — in the Australian Open quarter-finals in January and the gold-medal match at the Paris Olympics.
“I know I’ve played him a lot of times. I really want revenge. That’s obvious,” Alcaraz said after sealing his spot in the last four. “Novak, we all know Novak’s game… It doesn’t matter that he’s been out since Wimbledon. He’s hungry. His ambition is for more.”
For Djokovic, the mission is about history and survival. The 38-year-old is chasing a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title but enters the semi-final with fitness doubts. Earlier in the tournament he admitted to being “the most concerned [he’d] ever been” about his body at a major. After clinical wins over Jan-Lennard Struff and last year’s finalist Taylor Fritz, he insisted he would do everything possible to be ready for “potentially five sets with Carlos”.
“I know my best tennis is going to be required, but I’ll rise to the occasion,” Djokovic said. “There’s going to be a lot of running involved. It’s not going to be short points.”
The head-to-head record tilts narrowly in Djokovic’s favour at 5–3, with his Melbourne blueprint still fresh: suffocating Alcaraz with relentless depth, turning rallies into wars of attrition, and striking decisive forehands at key moments. That strategy also broke Alcaraz’s spirit in Paris, when Djokovic’s running crosscourt winners sealed Olympic gold.
Yet Alcaraz has momentum and a place in history within reach. With 59 wins and six titles already this season, he leads the 2025 ATP Tour in victories and has secured his spot at the Nitto ATP Finals. Victory in New York could also restore him to the top of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time in two years, provided he matches or surpasses Jannik Sinner’s performance.
His serving has been formidable throughout the fortnight. Alcaraz has been broken just once in 69 service games, becoming only the sixth man since 1995 to reach a US Open semi-final having dropped serve fewer than three times. The list of predecessors — Federer and Nadal among them — all went on to reach the final, with most lifting the trophy.
Still, the Spaniard knows his greatest test lies ahead. Djokovic remains one of the sport’s most ruthless competitors on the biggest stages. Since his first US Open final in 2007, he has failed to make at least one major final in a season only twice, in 2009 and 2017.
The outcome could redefine both careers in 2025. A win for Alcaraz would not only avenge past defeats but also propel him towards a second US Open title and restore his ranking supremacy. A win for Djokovic would underline his enduring dominance, silencing concerns over age and fitness while moving him closer to a landmark 25th major.
The stage is set for another instalment in one of tennis’s most compelling rivalries — youth against experience, fire against steel — with a place in Sunday’s final on the line