Tennis at the US Open: Alcaraz thanks to victory in the top star duel with Djokovic in the final

French Open Champion Carlos Alcaraz won the top star duel with Novak Djokovic and reached the endgame of the US Open for the second time. The 22-year-old Spaniard confidently prevailed in the semi-finals against the Serbian record grand slam winner with 6: 4, 7: 6 (7: 4), 6: 2.

The tournament winner from 2022 on Sunday in New York will play against the Italian world ranking list of Jannik Sinner or outsider Felix Auger-Aliasseime from Canada for his sixth Grand Slam title. With a victory or with a surprising semi-finals from Sinner, Alcaraz would rise again to number one in the tennis world. It will be his third Grand Slam final one after the other.

“Being here again in the final of the US Open feels great. It wasn’t the best level of the tournament of me. I opened very well, that was very important today. In general, I played good tennis,” said Alcaraz after his success in 2:23 hours.

Djokovic goes out the energy

Djokovic has to bury his hope for the 25th Grand Slam title, with which he would swing the sole record holder in front of the Australian Margaret Court, for these US Open. Djokovic is also aware that it will be more and more complicated to achieve the big goal. “But that’s why I don’t give up the Grand Slams,” said the four-time US Open Champion. “I will continue to fight, try to reach the endgames and to fight a trophy.” He is planning for the full Grand Slam season 2026.

He proved that even when he was 38, he is still one of the best in the world. At all four of the biggest events this season, he was in the semi -finals – but then it was always over.

Alcaraz, in outstanding form for weeks, was simply too strong. It is without loss of sets in the entire course of the tournament. “Unfortunately, the energy went out after the second set. I had enough energy to keep up two sentences. Then I was exhausted and he continued,” admitted Djokovic.

Alcaraz got off to a better start in front of almost 24,000 spectators at the Arthur Ashe stage. With the first game win at the service Djokovic, he immediately laid the basis for the first set win. Djokovic won the line along one of the most spectacular points. But Alcaraz remained inviolable during his surcharge against the Return specialist.

Tiebreak the preliminary decision in the second set

That changed at the beginning of the second sentence. For a short time, Alcaraz lost his consistency and sprinkled unusual mistakes. But the youngster was not irritated by the failed start, a 0: 3 deficit and “Nole, Nole” calls. Djokovic was the effort to look at, he kept blowing through.

“He is actually over his limit. He tries to survive somehow,” said Boris Becker, former coach of Djokovic, at SporteuropetV. The tiebreak deservedly went to number two in the world. Djokovic, currently a world ranking seventh seventh, was treated during the break in the shoulder and neck area. The 38-year-old had problems with this year’s US Open several times and reached his physical limit.

At the Olympic Games in France in the summer of 2024, Djokovic supplemented his career with an emotional final success against Alcaraz and the gold medal by a previously missing highlight. In Melbourne at the beginning of the season, he had annoyed the 16 -year -old competitor in the quarter -finals. At the final Grand Slam tournament 2025, Alcaraz prevailed again with his athletics and variation-as in the Wimbledon final 2023 and 2024.