The business end of the US Open is here, and all of the familiar faces on the men's side are still in the draw fighting for the trophy. Of course, Novak Djokovic is right at the front of the pack, and he advanced to the semifinals with a hard-fought victory over No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz in straight sets on Tuesday night.
Djokovic has spent much of his career as a favorite, or one of them alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, but he now finds himself a distant third at the age of 38. Since the start of 2024, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have been lapping the field, winning all seven Grand Slam titles between them in that time.
Sinner and Alcaraz came into this US Open on opposite sides of the draw as the top two players in the world, leaving fans salivating about the potential of them renewing their rivalry in the final on Sunday to decide the season's final major. However, Djokovic has other plans.
"I'm going to try to mess up the plans of most of the people."
Novak Djokovic aims to be in the US Open final, and not make it as a forecasted Carlos Alcaraz – Janik Sinner show 🗣️
(via @usopen)pic.twitter.com/6hdDRBqCsB
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 3, 2025
“Well, we don't need to spend words on the two of them. We know they are the two best players in the world. Everybody's probably expecting and anticipating the finals between the two of them,” Djokovic said. “I'm gonna try to mess up the plans of most of the people. Let's see. Sinner still has to win a couple of matches to get to the final, but they are playing definitely the best tennis of any player here. They have been the dominant force since the beginning of the tournament.”
First up for Djokovic will be Alcaraz, a head-to-head that he has enjoyed over the past couple of seasons. The 24-time Grand Slam champ has won his last two matches against the Spaniard — in the Gold Medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinals — and leads the series 5-3 overall.
However, Alcaraz has looked like the best version of himself at this tournament, reaching the semifinals without dropping a set. He crushed No. 20 seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon.
On the other side of the draw, Sinner will take on No. 10 seed Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. If he gets through that match, he will take on the winner of No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur and No. 25 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals before getting to Djokovic or Alcaraz in the final. It won't be easy, but the defending champion has earned favorite status against just about anyone in the draw.
