Carlos Alcaraz took down 24-times major winner Novak Djokovic 6-4 7-6(4) 6-2 with clinical precision on Friday to reach the US Open final, prevailing in a blockbuster showdown that packed the house at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Similar crowds can be expected at Flushing Meadows on Sunday after the top-ranked Jannik Sinner ensured a scintillating title clash between the young torchbearers of men's tennis by seeing off Canadian 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4.
It will be the pair's third Grand Slam final meeting of the year, after Spaniard Alcaraz saved three match points to keep his French Open title in June, before surrendering his Wimbledon crown to the Italian the following month.
Well before they cemented their status as superstars of the modern era, Alcaraz and Sinner had clashed in the US Open quarter-final, where the Spaniard prevailed after five bruising sets before going on to win the title.
"I love these challenges. I love to put myself in these positions," Sinner said.
"He's someone who pushed me to limit, which is great, because you have the best feedback you can have as a player. We've faced each other quite a lot now lately, so things are getting a little bit different.
"It's nice ... it's great for the sport having rivalries, having hopefully great matches."
Friday's first semi-final was billed as the hottest ticket in New York and it lived up to the hype, with a scoreline that belied its intensity, as the 2022 champion Alcaraz soaked in deafening cheers on match point.
WEAR AND TEAR
Djokovic won their two most recent meetings, including in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open earlier this year, but the 38-year-old showed wear and tear against Alcaraz, 16 years his junior.
"It's something that I'm working on, just the consistency on the matches, on the tournaments, on the year in general," stated Alcaraz, who already has five major titles in his career as compared to Sinner's four.
"Just not having ups-and-downs in the match. Just the level that I start the match, I just wanted to keep that level really high during the whole match."
Djokovic dropped his serve when he sent a shot past the baseline in the opening game and was unable to set up a single break point chance in the first set, which Alcaraz closed out with an unreturnable serve.
Urged on by the celebrity-packed stands, the seventh seed got in the fight in the next set, sending over a superb backhand to convert on break point in the second game.
But Alcaraz had not dropped a set in New York and was not about to start as he put his foot on the gas, setting up a break point after surviving a 16-shot rally with one of his fine forehand winners and converting from the baseline.
Down 0-2 in the tiebreak, Djokovic outlasted his opponent in a cheeky exchange at the net before pausing to take in the roars of the crowd, a reminder of the Serb's perennial appeal two decades after his Flushing Meadows main draw debut.
But the undeterred Spaniard kept his nerve, closing out the tiebreak with two more huge serves, before Djokovic gifted him a break point with an untimely double fault in the fourth game of the third set.
"It's not easy playing against him, to be honest," said Alcaraz, who hit twice as many winners as his opponent.
"I'm thinking about the legend, what he has achieved in his career. It's difficult not to think about it. That makes facing him even tougher."
The writing was on the wall for Djokovic as he hit another double fault on the penultimate point of the match and he leaned on the net, congratulating his opponent with a grin after handing over the contest with a wide forehand.
"It's frustrating on the court when you're not able to keep up with that level physically. At the same time, it's something expected," admitted Djokovic, who won the last of his four US Open titles in 2023.
"It comes with time and with age."
The US Open action resumes on Saturday, with the women's singles final, where American Amanda Anisimova aims to derail Aryna Sabalenka's title defense while chasing a maiden Grand Slam title.
