Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime make way for top two to reach yet another final
©Antoine Couvercelle / FFTThe US Open final is going to be world No.1 Jannik Sinner vs. world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz – anyone surprised?
The pair will square off in the championship match for a third consecutive Grand Slam – and a fifth time this season – after Sinner overcame Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alcaraz moved past Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals on Friday.
Alcaraz finally got his revenge on Djokovic, who had won their last two meetings in the Australian Open quarter-finals in January and last year’s Olympic gold medal match.
The No.2 seed ended Djokovic’s bid for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam with a 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory to reach the final for an eighth consecutive tournament – a stretch that began last April.
Alcaraz returns to the championship match in New York for the first time since he lifted the trophy there in 2022 and becomes the first man since Roger Federer in 2015 to reach the US Open final without dropping a set.
The 22-year-old leads the tour with 60 wins and six titles this season and will bid for a sixth Grand Slam trophy when he takes on Sinner on Sunday.
“For me it's great. It's something that I'm working on, just the consistency on the matches, on the tournaments, on the year in general. Just not having up-and-downs in the match. Just the level that I start the match, just wanted to keep that level really high during the whole match,” said Alcaraz.
“So I think I'm doing that in this tournament, which I'm really proud about. Probably I'm just getting mature. Just getting to know myself much better, what I need off the court. The things that I'm doing off the court I think I'm doing really, really well, which helps me a lot to play my best tennis.”
Djokovic dropped serve in the opening game of the contest, and that sole break was enough for Alcaraz to scoop the first set.
The Spaniard erased a 0-3 deficit in the second frame – which was the most competitive of the match – and secured the breaker before cruising in the third to lock down his place in the final.
His celebration? A golf swing, of course, as a nod to his compatriot Sergio Garcia, who was one of many athletes and celebrities in the stands present for this duo’s ninth career meeting.
Alcaraz won 84 percent of his first-serve points, fired 31 winners against 30 unforced errors and was a respectable 15/22 at the net.
Alcaraz improved to 4-5 head-to-head against Djokovic and claimed his first win on hard courts against the Serb.
“It's impressive what he has done this year in the slams, reaching the semi-final in every slam, challenging the Next Gen. Challenging us the way he's doing, it's impressive,” said Alcaraz of Djokovic.
“I told him always he looks like 25 years old physically, so to maintain that level at 38, it's impressive.”
Djokovic finished the match with 15 winners and 30 unforced errors and admitted he ran out of steam after the first two sets.
He concludes his Grand Slam season having reached – and lost in – the semi-finals in all four majors.
“I lost three out of four Slams in semis against these guys (Sinner and Alcaraz), so they're just too good, playing on a really high level,” said Djokovic.
Unfortunately, I ran out of gas after the second set. I think I had enough energy to battle him and to keep up with his rhythm for two sets. After that I was gassed out, and he kept going.
“That's kind of what I felt this year also with Jannik. Yeah, best-of-five makes it very, very difficult for me to play them. Particularly if it's like the end stages of the Grand Slam.”
While Djokovic accepts his new reality, he insists he’s not giving up just yet.
“I can do only as much as I can do. Yeah, it will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner, Alcaraz, in the best-of-five on the Grand Slams. I think I have a better chance best-of-three, but best-of-five, it's tough,” said the 38-year-old Serb.
“I'm not giving up on Grand Slams in that regard, having said that. I'm going to continue fighting and trying to get to the finals and fight for another trophy at least. But it's going to be a very difficult task.”
©Antoine Couvercelle / FFTLater on Arthur Ashe stadium, Sinner dropped his second set of the tournament to a Canadian, this time to No.25 seed Auger-Aliassime.
The pair had faced off in Cincinnati just a few weeks earlier with Sinner dropping just two games in a swift straight-sets win. Friday’s affair, though, was a different story.
A sharper Auger-Aliassime showed up on court and pushed Sinner hard with his serve and forehand before succumbing in three hours and 21 minutes 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“Amazing season. Obviously the Grand Slams are the most important tournaments we have throughout the year and finding myself in another final here again, especially the last one of the season, with an amazing crowd, it doesn’t get any better than this,” said the Italian top seed.
“Me and Felix played in the last tournament and he’s a completely different player. He was serving much better, hitting every shot much better, so it was a very tough match today, but obviously I’m very, very happy.”
It was the 300th victory of Sinner’s career and it saw him advance to a fifth consecutive Grand Slam final.
The US Open defending champion joins an elite group comprised of Rod Laver, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men in the Open Era to make the finals at all four Grand Slams in a single season. He is the youngest to achieve that feat in Open Era history.
The 24-year-old also extended his winning streak on hard courts at the majors to 27 matches.
“Amazing stats. I would have never thought that I would make this when I turned pro, and now I find myself here. So it's amazing,” said Sinner.
“Five straight Grand Slam finals, it's something great. The consistency and putting myself there in the later stages of the biggest tournaments we have, it's amazing, no?
“I know it's in the back of my head, whatever I'm doing, but in the same time whatever is done is done. I'm here. I have a very important day Sunday, and then we see.”
©Antoine Couvercelle / FFTSinner needed treatment for a twinge he felt in his abdomen while serving during the second set but later said it was not a major concern as he looks ahead to his 15th career showdown with Alcaraz, who leads their head-to-head 9-5.
The duo will reunite at the US Open for the first time since their 2022 five-set epic, which ended at nearly 3:00am. Alcaraz went on to win the title for his maiden Grand Slam triumph and became the youngest world No.1 in men’s tennis history.
“I feel like our rivalry has started here really, playing an amazing match,” said Sinner. “We are two different players now, different confidence too. So let’s see what’s coming. We’ve played quite a lot this year, so we know each other well, let’s see who is preparing in the best possible way.”
On his part, Auger-Aliassime has plenty to celebrate as he switches his focus to his upcoming wedding to long-time girlfriend Nina Ghaibi.
“Tonight, I just want to take a moment to soak in the tournament and everything that was good,” said Auger-Aliassime, who knocked out two top-eight seeds en route to his first major semi-final since 2021.
“You obviously build your future with what's good in you, and then you try to improve a little bit step by step. So I'm just trying to take that all in.
“But to say how close my level is (to Sinner’s), yeah, we were fighting out there. We had some good points. I was going toe to toe at times, some sets dominating. Of course, I feel competitive, but the future will tell how close I am.”
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
