Novak Djokovic hopes semi-final battle is with Carlos Alcaraz and not own body

By Eleanor Crooks, PA Sport Correspondent, New York

Novak Djokovic hopes his biggest battle at the US Open on Friday is with Carlos Alcaraz rather than his own body.

The Serbian will try to bridge a 16-year age gap when he takes on Alcaraz in his fourth grand slam semi-final of the season.

The previous three have all ended in defeat but only at the French Open – where he lost to Jannik Sinner – was Djokovic fit, with the 38-year-old forced out by a leg injury after one set against Alexander Zverev in Australia, before another thigh problem hampered him in a second defeat by Sinner at Wimbledon.

It was understandable, then, that Djokovic struck a note of caution ahead of his rematch with Alcaraz, who he beat in the last eight at the Australian Open, despite sustaining the injury that would eventually rule him out.

Speaking after a tense four-set victory over Taylor Fritz on Tuesday night, Djokovic said: “The next couple of days is really key for me to get my body in shape and ready to battle five sets if it’s needed.

“I just would really love that. I know that my best tennis is going to be required, but I’d rise to the occasion. Normally I like to play the big matches on a big stage.

“It’s just that I’m not really sure how the body is going to feel. But I’m going to do my very best with my team to be fit for that.”

The good news for Djokovic is that he had two days off to prepare for the contest, while he has recent positive memories against Alcaraz, having also beaten him to the Olympic gold medal last summer.

The Spaniard has looked in supremely good form in New York, not dropping a set through to the last four, but Djokovic added: “I definitely am not going with a white flag on the court.

“I put myself in another semi-finals of a grand slam this year. I have been very consistent – most consistent on 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. Here we are. I have another chance.”

Alcaraz won his first grand slam title at Flushing Meadows three years ago and is looking to add a sixth crown and second of the season.

“We all know Novak’s game,” he said. “It doesn’t matter that he has been out of the tour since Wimbledon.

“Playing great matches here. I know he’s hungry. I know his ambition for more. I played a lot of times against him. I really want revenge.”

The other semi-final will pit defending champion and world number one Sinner against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Sinner has not lost a grand slam match on a hard court for two years and his quarter-final victory over fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti made him the youngest man ever to win 25 matches at the majors in one season.

Another victory would see him progress to his fifth-successive grand slam final.

“These are very special occasions,” said Sinner. “Finding myself again in the semis of a grand slam, it’s a great, great achievement. I’m very, very happy about that.”

For Auger-Aliassime, this marks his return to a slam semi-final four years after he first made the last four in New York.

While the 25-year-old is delighted with his resurgence, it is complicating preparations for his wedding in a few weeks, with Auger-Aliassime’s suit fitting scheduled for Monday.

Asked whether he was more nervous to face Sinner or for his big day, Auger-Aliassime said: “Good thing is, I was in the semi-finals before. Walking down the aisle, I have never done.

“When it’s a first, it’s a special feeling, for sure. I’m looking forward to it. The fitting, we’ll see. I haven’t thought about it much yet, but obviously we’re probably going to have to postpone it – it’s a quick turnaround.”