NOVAK Djokovic inched a little closer to history on Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the top seed and world No. 1 defeated Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the 12th US Open semifinal of his career.
The Serbian is now just two wins shy of completing the calendar-year Grand Slam, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in men’s tennis in more than half a century. Australian Rod Laver was the last man to sweep all four majors in a single season (1969).
Djokovic, 34, extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 26 matches and he remains unbeaten in US Open quarterfinals.
He also closed in on what would be a record-setting 21st major title, snapping the 20-20-20 deadlock with career-long rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“It was a great match. A lot of energy on the court, off the court as well,” said Djokovic, who owns the record for overall weeks at No. 1 (337 and counting).
“Matteo is a terrific player, an established Top 10 player. Every time we face each other, it’s always a close battle. It wasn’t any different tonight. When I lost the first set, I managed to forget about it, kind of be in the moment. I was dialed in, locked in from the beginning of the second set. I put my tennis to a different level. It’s been the best three sets I’ve played in the tournament so far, for sure.”
Berrettini, 25, did his best to emulate another Italian, Roberta Vinci, who on this same court in 2015 halted American Serena Williams’ attempt at the calendar-year Slam with arguably the greatest upset in US Open history.
But the task proved too great.
Wednesday night’s match marked Djokovic and Berrettini’s third encounter of 2021, a rematch of the Roland Garros quarterfinals and the Wimbledon final.
Berrettini fell to 0-4 against Djokovic and remains winless (0-6) against Top 10 competition at the majors.
Djokovic had dropped the opening set in each of his last two matches, so there was no sign of panic when the three-time champion again found himself down a set on Day 10. With the Serb serving at 5-all, 30-40 in the one-hour and 16-minute opener, Berrettini scampered into the corner and came up with a thunderous cross-court forehand pass for the first break of the match. He would then consolidate for the set.
Djokovic struck back for 3-1 in the second, and added another service break four games later to level the contest at one set apiece.
Djokovic has dubbed Berrettini the “Hammer of Tennis,” and for good reason. The Rome native is among the heaviest hitters on the ATP Tour, especially from the forehand side.
But despite the power display, the Italian soon found himself in a 0-3 hole to start the third set, which due to the threat of rain would be finished under a closed roof.
A forehand pass with his opponent serving at 0-1, 30-40 in the final set would all but seal the match for Djokovic, who after a slow start had settled into his elite form.
He would finish with 44 winners to 28 unforced errors. Berrettini led the way with 17 aces in the losing effort.
He can now look forward to a semifinal rematch against Alexander Zverev, six weeks after the German beat him in Tokyo on his way to the gold medal.
In women’s singles, Maria Sakkari leveraged her powerful serve and excellent court coverage to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday and dedicated her win to the people of Greece, who have endured a summer of brutal wildfires.
Sakkari was rock solid throughout the win on Arthur Ashe Stadium, hounding Pliskova into mistakes and getting an early break before going on take the first set.
The Greek 17th seed maintained the aggression in the second set, converting on break point in the seventh game as 2016 runner-up Pliskova failed to match her intensity.
The Czech, runner-up at Wimbledon this year, committed three double faults and 20 unforced errors in the match before Sakkari wrapped things up in one hour and 22 minutes.
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