After yet another straight-set victory, Carlos Alcaraz booked a place in the US Open semifinal against Novak Djokovic on Tuesday.
Five-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz has been in imperious form at Flushing Meadows as he is yet to drop set, and the way he dispatched 20th seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-final was particularly impressive.
The Czech stunned the 21-year-old in the last eight in Doha earlier in the year, but he was no match for the five-time Grand Slam winner at the season-ending Grand Slam as Alcaraz won 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
As per usual, the world No. 2 produced an array of stunning shots and Lehecka acknowledged that he faced Alcaraz at his best, saying: “Let’s say today I faced the ‘Grand Slam’ version of Carlos.
“That’s how I’d like to think of it because it was a tough match. We know that Jannik and he, along with Novak at Grand Slams, are the three toughest guys to beat. Today he showed why he is one of the title contenders.
“Everyone knew it, and today he proved it again. Honestly, I don’t think it was a poor performance on my part. I feel good: the most important things he needed to do, he did better than me. Against Carlos, if you want to beat him, you need to prevail in at least some crucial points… and today he won them all.
“Even when I had a good rally, when I tried to put pressure on him, come to the net, or change the pace, do something, he was always there with an answer to everything I attempted.”
Next up for Alcaraz is Djokovic in what will be their ninth career meeting with the latter leading their head-to-head 5-3.
Djokovic has also won their two most recent encounters, in the quarter-final of the 2025 Australian Open and their 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal match, but seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander has a warning.
“Carlos Alcaraz is through again, he played an amazing match,” the former world No. 1 said on TNT Sports.
“He’s moving amazingly well, he’s hitting the ball well, his forehand is really working. Sometimes he makes mistakes on the forehand, not this time.”
Wilander added: “He has improved his serve so much that if you’re going to beat Carlos Alcaraz, you have to play like Jiri Lehecka did at times – the very, very best of your ability, because Carlos Alcaraz will not give anything for free.
“He’s playing better in every round, and I think he’s going to get better in every round, so it’s going to be really tough to beat Carlos Alcaraz.”
Djokovic has spent more time on court than Alcaraz as he has dropped a set in three of his five games, including in the quarter-final against Taylor Fritz as he won 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
