NEW YORK (AP) — There was a moment, albeit a brief one, during his loss in the U.S. Open semifinals Friday that Novak Djokovic appeared to be making a match of it against Carlos Alcaraz.
It was early in the second set, not quite an hour into the proceedings at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and Djokovic produced the sort of level that has carried him to 24 Grand Slam titles, more weeks at No. 1 in the rankings than anyone and all manner of other prizes.
He cracked a return of a 132 mph serve, won the point and
earned his first break chance. Then he cashed that in by coming out on top in a nine-stroke exchange, just the second service game Alcaraz lost over these two weeks. Suddenly, Djokovic was up 2-0 in that set. He threw an uppercut and held the pose. Spectators jumped out of their seats, screaming and clapping and singing his nickname, “No-le! No-le!”
In that moment, the 38-year-old Djokovic didn't look his age, didn't necessarily seem destined to come up short. A few minutes later, he led 3-0. Ah, but it wouldn't last.
Alcaraz regained control and finished off his 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over a weary Djokovic in less than 2 1/2 hours. It was the fourth major semifinal for Djokovic this season — and fourth time his tournament ended at that stage.
“I’m not giving up on Grand Slams. ... I’m going to continue fighting and trying to get to the finals and fight for another trophy, at least,” said Djokovic, who would love to become the first player in tennis history with 25 major singles trophies. “But, you know, it’s going to be a very difficult task.”
Three of those 2025 semifinal departures came against No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who is 24, or No. 2 Alcaraz, who is 22; one exit came when Djokovic quit after one set against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open in January because of an injured hamstring.
“Unfortunately, I ran out of gas after the second set,” Djokovic said about what happened Friday. “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.”
He said it's just too much to ask to try to keep up with the much-younger men at the very top of the game right now in best-of-five-set matches late in the second week at a major.
Djokovic described that as frustrating — but also something not surprising.
“It comes with time and with age,” he said. “I still enjoy the thrill of competition. Today I received amazing support again on the court from the crowd. Very thankful for that. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. That’s one of the biggest reasons why I keep on going. The love that I’ve been getting around the world has been amazing the last couple of years.”
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
