Carlos Alcaraz has never looked better at a Grand Slam tournament as he continues a rich vein of form in 2025.
At this year’s US Open Alcaraz has progressed to a ninth major semifinal, but it’s the first time he has reached this stage without dropping a set.
With a serve that’s firing, unwavering focus, engaged body language and a complete repertoire of shots overwhelming opponents, Alcaraz has spent just over nine-and-a-half hours to reach this point of a tournament many observers think he might win.
It also extends a purple patch of form dating back to April’s Monte Carlo Masters, the first of seven consecutive tournament finals for the world No.2. He could make it an eighth straight in New York as he enters the semifinals with wins in 44 of his past 46 matches.
The trouble is, he next faces a giant of the game who has proven a bogey opponent.
Novak Djokovic set a semifinal blockbuster against Alcaraz thanks to an intense four-set win over Taylor Fritz on Tuesday night. The result took his total on-court time to almost 13 hours, and at 38 years of age he is 16 years Alcaraz’ senior.
Although these facts might seem advantageous to Alcaraz, another fact is that Djokovic has dominated the head-to-head recently by winning four of their past five meetings – including their most recent at Australian Open 2025.
“We all know Novak's game. It doesn't matter that he has been out of the tour since Wimbledon. Playing great matches here,” Alcaraz observed. “I know he's hungry. I know his ambition for more, so let's see.
“I know I played a lot of times against him. I really want to [gain] revenge.”
Following his Wimbledon semifinal defeat to Sinner, Djokovic lamented the position in which he found himself, at this point of his enduring career, with a 25th major title tantalisingly close.
“The longer the [Grand Slam] tournament goes, the worse the [physical] condition gets,” he said. “I reach the final stages, I reach the semis of every Slam this year, but I have to play [Jannik] Sinner or Alcaraz.”
Yet it’s been only Sinner stopping him in 2025, something the Italian also did in straight sets in the Roland Garros semifinals. Alcaraz, in contrast, has not beaten Djokovic at a major in more than a year.
When they meet for the first time at the US Open, it’s a match-up that will complete their Grand Slam set. They’ve split their four previous Slam matches; Djokovic won their Roland Garros 2023 semifinal and AO 2025 quarterfinal, either side of Alcaraz’ 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon final triumphs.
Not long after their 2023 Wimbledon final, Alcaraz held a championship point in the Cincinnati final against Djokovic, a win which would have boosted his head-to-head lead to 3-1. Instead, Djokovic stormed back to triumph and flipped the rivalry in his favour, a series he now leads 5-3.
“I'm going to try to take one day at a time. Really take care of my body. Try to relax and recover. The next couple of days is really key for me,” Djokovic said after beating Fritz.
“I just would really love to be fit enough to play and to play potentially five sets with Carlos. I know that my best tennis is going to be required, but I'd rise to the occasion.
“I put myself in another semifinals of a Grand Slam this year. I have been very consistent… 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.
“Here we are. I have another chance, another shot. Hopefully, as I said, I can be fit enough and play well enough to keep up with Carlos.
“Then it can be anybody's match.”
After his loss at Melbourne Park in January, Alcaraz admitted he’d let Djokovic’s physical issues affect his focus, while ruing the fact he had not conserved enough energy in prior rounds.
As 2025 has unfolded he’s become more efficient on both these fronts, and making that known to opponents.
“We're playing two kind of matches at the same time. It is the match of playing, the points and whatever, and the match that behind the scenes, let's say, so the body language,” he explained.
“How you show the opponents how you feel is really important. Doesn't matter if you feel exhausted, you feel really tired, you feel like you cannot keep it going. But if you show the opponent you're fresh, you're able to play two, three, more hours, to play long rallies, it's giving him the mindset of this is going to be really tough.
“So for me the way that I walk between points, with attitude, with like I'm fresh, I'm really good physically, I think it's really important.”
We’ll see who wins the both the mental and physical battle when Alcaraz and Djokovic clash on Friday in New York.