Damien Kayat previews Carlos Alcaraz vs Alex Zverev and Novak Djokovic vs Ben Shelton in selected Quarterfinal and Semifinal Matches of the US Open, on the 7th and 8th of September 2023.
2023 ATP Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
US Open Men’s Championships
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, New York, USA (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Selected Quarterfinals and Semi-finals – 7th – 8th September
Quarterfinal- 7th September
Carlos Alcaraz 2/9 | Alex Zverev 10/3
What more is there to say about Carlos Alcaraz? The 20-year-old superstar’s emphatic victory over Matteo Arnaldi made him only the 2nd man in the Open Era to reach three US Open quarterfinals before the age of 21 (the other being Andre Agassi).
In fact, he now has a Flushing Meadows record of 15-1. And he was exceptional against the Italian surprise package, surrendering just one break-point in the match while creating 12 of his own. He won an impressive 78% of his first-serve points and hit 31 winners to only 22 unforced errors.
Alcaraz has only dropped one set in the tournament and has only spent about 11 hours on court total (thanks in part to Koepfer’s first-round withdrawal). He has now reached the quarterfinals in five of his last six Slams. He has also compiled an impressive 20-3 hardcourt record this year. He is positively bursting with confidence and it’s hard to conceive of him losing a tennis match.
You can’t help but admire the tenacity shown by Alex Zverev to get back to the top of the game. That Achilles tendon rupture at last year’s French Open was one of the most sickening on-court injuries I have seen in some time.
But the German is now into his 10th career quarterfinal after a herculean effort against red-hot Jannik Sinner. He won 70% of his first-serve points in a match that lasted well over four hours. He even had to mentally regroup after a fan was ejected following some Hitler-related jibe- you have got to love the US Open.
Zverev hit 56 winners to 46 unforced errors to outduel the Italian star. I was actually surprised with how he went toe-to-toe with Sinner from the baseline. He cleverly came to the net to disrupt Sinner and he may have to use similar tactics against the Spanish phenom.
Zverev memorably lost to Thiem in the 2020 US Open final and he will be looking to reach the final four here for the 3rd time.
Verdict: Alcaraz to win in three sets
Zverev actually leads the head-to-head 3-2. Having said that, all of those German victories came prior to Alcaraz’s ascent to the top of the tennis world. The Spaniard comfortably dealt with Zverev at this year’s Madrid Open and he is going to be far the fresher player.
I just can’t see Zverev rebounding from that Sinner epic to challenge Alcaraz (especially here). I wish I could come up with a slightly sexier result but Alcaraz should win this comfortably.
Semi-final- 8th September
Novak Djokovic 1/20 | Ben Shelton 9/1
Remarkable ironman Novak Djokovic was absolutely sublime in sweltering conditions against American darling Taylor Fritz, winning in straight-sets in just under three hours.
He wore Fritz down with his renowned athleticism, forcing the American to commit 51 unforced errors (a massive number in a three-set match). The victory meant that the Serbian is now the all-time record holder for most Grand Slam semi-finals (47).
The result also took his stunning US Open quarterfinal record to 13-0. The reigning Aussie and French Open champ, Djokovic recently regained the World No.1 ranking from wunderkind Carlos Alcaraz.
But you get the impression that he won’t be satisfied until he exacts revenge on the Spaniard for that Wimbledon defeat (and I’m not counting the Cincinnati final).
Ben Shelton’s victory over Frances Tiafoe makes this one of the most mismatched semi-finals in recent Grand Slam memory. And I’m not taking anything away from the huge serving American’s performance thus far.
It’s just you have a 23-time Major champion coming up against a player who has never competed in a tour final. The youngest ever male US Open semi-finalist, Ben Shelton has been a breath of fresh air this year (and boy did they need some fresh air in this New York City humidity). Ben Shelton is not going to die wondering.
When he isn’t serving aces, he is hitting unbelievably powerful groundstrokes. I was impressed with the way his backhand held firm against the Tiafoe forehand.
I was especially impressed with his brilliant performance in the forecourt. He covered the net beautifully, almost reminding me of a latter day Rafa Nadal. Is he just the sort of maverick who could prevent a seemingly inevitable Djokovic-Alcaraz final?
Verdict: Djokovic to win in four sets
This will be the first career meeting between these two. Djokovic is going to win this match. I think I can say that with a fair degree of certainty. He won’t commit the errors that Tiafoe committed and he will threaten the Shelton delivery far more often.
But I think there might be some value in going for a Djokovic four-set win. Djokovic could come out the blocks slowly while Shelton’s serve is obviously a X factor.
