Veteran Serbian Novak Djokovic, ranked seventh globally, reached the semifinals of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tennis tournament, by defeating American fourth seed Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. He will face Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday during the tournament’s tenth day, which also saw Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka and American fourth seed Jessica Pegula advance to the same stage.

Former world number one Djokovic ended Fritz’s hopes of becoming the first American male player to win a Grand Slam singles title since 2003 after a match lasting three hours and 27 minutes.

The 25-time Grand Slam champion sealed the match when his American opponent double-faulted on match point in the tenth game of the fourth set.

Djokovic expressed relief after the tough win: “In matches like this, a few key points decide the winner. It was a very close match and could have gone either way.”

Fritz was disappointed for not capitalizing on his chances, converting only two break points out of 13 opportunities.

Djokovic broke Fritz’s serve in the second game of the first set to lead 2-0, then both players held serve until the ninth game, where Fritz had five break chances that could have made it 5-4 in his favor, but he failed to convert and lost the opening set 3-6.

In the second set, Djokovic broke Fritz’s serve in the seventh game to lead 4-3 and then 5-3, but Fritz broke back in the tenth game to level at 5-5 before losing his serve again in the next game, allowing Djokovic to take the set 7-5.

Despite Fritz’s strong comeback to win the third set 6-3 with a break in the fourth game, the 38-year-old veteran held firm in the fourth set, closing it 6-4 with a break in the tenth game.

“I was very lucky,” Djokovic said. “I think I was very fortunate to save some crucial break points in the second set. He was the better player for most of the second and third sets.”

Djokovic will face Alcaraz in the semifinals. Alcaraz, who has been in strong form, needed only 1 hour and 56 minutes to overcome Lehecka (21) 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

The Spaniard, seeking his second New York title after 2022 and his sixth Grand Slam, has not lost a set in the tournament so far and will play his third semifinal at Flushing Meadows and ninth in Grand Slams overall.

If Alcaraz wins the title, he will displace Italian Jannik Sinner as world number one. Alcaraz admitted Tuesday that “it’s hard not to think about it. Every time I step on the court, I try not to think about it. If I think too much about being number one, I think I will put too much pressure on myself and I don’t want that.”

Alcaraz started strong, breaking his opponent’s serve in the first game and leading 3-1, 4-2, 5-3 before closing the set on his serve 6-4 in 41 minutes.

He repeated the scenario in the second set, breaking serve in the first game to lead 2-0 and winning the set 6-2 after taking the seventh game on the Czech’s serve. The Czech appeared more resilient in the third set, holding serve until the ninth game when Alcaraz gained the advantage and closed the match on his serve 6-4 in 1 hour and 56 minutes.

Alcaraz, who has won 35 of his last 36 matches, said: “I played an almost perfect match. It feels like there are only two steps left. Let’s see what happens. I feel great and I am hungry to win the title.”

Renewed Rivalry

In the women’s draw, defending champion Sabalenka reached the semifinals after Czech Marketa Vondrousova withdrew before the match due to a knee injury.

The top seed is aiming to become the first woman to defend the Flushing Meadows title since American Serena Williams in 2014.

Sabalenka said, “I feel very sorry for Marketa after all she has been through. She was playing great and I know how painful this is for her.”

Sabalenka will face American fourth seed Jessica Pegula in a repeat of last year’s final, after Pegula defeated another Czech, Barbora Krejcikova, 6-3, 6-3.

Last year’s runner-up needed 1 hour and 26 minutes to secure her second win over the 2021 Roland Garros and 2024 Wimbledon champion in four meetings and reached her second Grand Slam semifinal, after last year’s Flushing Meadows final where she lost to Sabalenka.

After the match, Pegula said, “I think I am playing very well. I am really solid. I had good, fast serves and wanted to apply that today, especially against such a dangerous player.”

About facing Sabalenka, she added, “I think it will be great to get revenge on her for sure.”