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US Open 2021: Novak Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev in semi-final

Novak Djokovic hits a backhand
If Novak Djokovic wins the US Open, he’ll transfer away from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s record-equalling 20 Grand Slam titles together with his twenty first main win
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Date: 30 August-12 September
Protection: Every day radio commentaries on BBC Radio 5 Reside Sports activities Additional/BBC Sport web site and app, with chosen reside textual content commentaries and match studies on the web site and app

Novak Djokovic will proceed his bid to win all 4 Grand Slams in the identical 12 months towards Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in Friday’s US Open semi-final.

The world primary got here from a set all the way down to beat Italy’s Matteo Berrettini 5-7 6-2 6-2 6-3 within the final eight.

Zverev, who beat Djokovic in July’s Olympic semi-finals, superior in New York with victory over Lloyd Harris.

“I really feel like I used to be the primary participant to beat [Djokovic] in a really huge match this 12 months,” Zverev mentioned on courtroom.

“I imply, it is the largest event on the earth. It is the Olympics. Successful there towards the world primary, particularly as I used to be down a set and a break, being form of out of the match, then coming again, it was totally different than the opposite matches. The feelings had been totally different.

“This 12 months it looks as if no one can beat him in a giant match; no one can beat him on the Grand Slams.”

The primary of the US Open males’s semi-finals will start at 20:00 BST on Friday, with the second scheduled to start out 4 hours later.

World quantity 4 Zverev, 24, beat South African Lloyd 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-4 and seeks a primary Grand Slam title, having completed runner-up on the 2020 US Open.

Djokovic mentioned of his semi-final opponent: “He is in great type, he is been profitable loads. He has comfortably moved to the semi-finals right here.

“I do know his sport properly – we performed in Tokyo. He is among the best gamers on the earth, however the larger the problem the extra glory in overcoming it.”

Djokovic trims errors to win

Djokovic, 34, is now simply two wins away from including the US Open title to these gained on the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon earlier this 12 months.

Serbia’s 20-time Grand Slam champion, who additionally beat Berrettini within the Wimbledon last, mentioned after shedding the primary set towards the Italian that he went on to supply “the very best three units I’ve performed thus far”.

Berrettini’s spectacular serving helped him to a break within the first set, however he squandered three set factors earlier than Djokovic hit a forehand huge to lose the opener.

From there, the world primary produced simply 11 unforced errors throughout the subsequent three units as he closed out the match in dominant type.

Ought to he attain and win Sunday’s last, Djokovic would be the first man to win all 4 majors in the identical calendar 12 months since Rod Laver in 1969.

Frustrations get messy

The court being cleaned after Lloyd Harris spilt his drink
Alexander Zverev and Lloyd Harris each picked up towels and helped clear the courtroom after a drink was spilt

There have been extraordinary scenes on Arthur Ashe earlier on Wednesday when Harris confirmed his frustrations on the finish of the primary set tie-break, launching a drinks bottle throughout the courtroom.

Its contents spilt and each gamers, together with the umpire and quite a lot of ball children, needed to choose up towels to scrub it up.

At one level, Zverev and Harris had been chatting away whereas drying up the mess, earlier than the South African poured water over the realm to cease it from getting sticky.

He was not the one one to lose his cool – Zverev, whereas trailing 5-3 within the opening set, slammed his racquet into the bottom after lacking a forehand.

However the German was in superb serving type, even producing an ace on a second serve halfway by the second set, and closed out the match in two hours and 6 minutes.

Zverev slams his racquet
Zverev confirmed his frustration by slamming his racquet into the courtroom
Lloyd Harris cleaning up
Harris cleans up his personal mess after spilling a drink throughout the courtroom

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