Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic Eyeing Dream U.S. Open Final

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic — the two best tennis players in the world — are now each one victory from a dream matchup in Sunday’s U.S. Open final.

Alcaraz, the 20-year-old defending champion and No. 1 seed, dominated No. 12 Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the quarterfinals Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium and will meet No. 3 seed and 2021 champ Daniil Medvedev in one semifinal Friday.

Djokovic, the 36-year-old, 23-time major champion who is seeking to tie Margaret Court atop the all-time list with 24, faces 20-year-old American left-hander Ben Shelton in the other semifinal.

Djokovic, who will replace Alcaraz as the world No. 1 on Monday, won the first two major titles of the season at the Australian Open and French Open before Alcaraz spoiled his bid for a third leg of the calendar Slam in an epic Wimbledon final.

Asked about a potential rematch against Djokovic on Sunday, Alcaraz said: “Well, obviously it’s closer than the beginning of the tournament. That’s obviously, you know, we just one match from that potential final.

“It would be great to play a final against Novak here in New York, but we, well, both of us have really tough semifinal, so let’s see. But obviously both of us are looking for that potential final.”

The tournament winner will take home $3 million and the runner-up $1.5 million.

Roger Federer, who retired last year after winning 20 Grand Slam singles titles, is picking Djokovic.

“I would bet on Novak Djokovic. That’s a safe bet,” he told Sports Illustrated Germany.

Medvedev and Shelton hope to spoil the dream final, but they are facing long odds. Alcaraz is 2-1 against the Russian and completely dominated him, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, in the Wimbledon semifinals.

Djokovic got some measure of revenge last month when he came back from a set and a break down to overcome brutal heat and Alcaraz in a three-set Cincinnati final that became an instant classic.

Djokovic, who formed the Professional Tennis Players Association with Canadian Vasek Pospisil in 2020, is also hoping to enlist Alcaraz to support his players’ union.

Djokovic will first have to go through Shelton, the charismatic lefty who has cracked serves of 149 mph in this Open.

Djokovic has praised Shelton for his path to the pros. The son of former pro and former University of Florida coach Bryan Shelton, Ben won the 2022 NCAA singles championship at Florida.

“I think it’s great,” Djokovic said. “It’s great that Ben Shelton, for example, a player who came from college tennis, is playing at the highest level, producing some amazing tennis,” he said. “I think it’s a great message for all the players who want to go to college but then still keep on playing professionally. It proves that it is possible, which maybe up to 15 to 20 years ago, it was completely different.”

Shelton knows he’s facing a living legend and a man on a quest to make more history before he’s done.

“Yeah, definitely a tough challenge,” Shelton said after beating fellow American Frances Tiafoe in four sets in the quarterfinals. “I think that whenever you play somebody for the first time and someone who has been in this situation so many times and come out victorious so many times, that’s in the back of your head. You just know how, you know, rock solid the guy is and how mentally tough, how physically tough. So that’s definitely something that I have to game-plan for.”

The semifinals still have to be played, but it seems like the other players in the locker room are already anticipating a dream final of Alcaraz vs. Djokovic.

“I played Novak in Cincinnati. I played Carlos here,” Zverev said. “I think they’re very similar in level of the game. There’s some things Novak does better and some things Carlos does better. They’re on a level of their own at the moment. Other guys gotta catch up. It’s as simple as that.”