Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic’s US Open semi-final match is, without a doubt, one of the most anticipated clashes of the tournament thus far.
It is the match-up that everybody wanted when the draw first came out, and after both suffered shock early exits last year, they have returned with a vengeance.
It should surprise no one that, when fully rested and ready to focus solely on this event, they have carved through their respective portions of the draw with relative ease.
However, Carlos Alcaraz has been sent a warning ahead of the meeting, told not to get dragged into one area of the game that does not suit him.
Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open semi-final vs Novak Djokovic previewed
The pundit who issued the deterrent was Matt Roberts, who, speaking on The Tennis Podcast, claimed: “What I found particularly interesting about the answer that Alcaraz gave I thought was that he said it doesn’t matter if you feel exhausted if you feel really tired if you feel like you can’t keep it going, you have to show the opponent you feel fresh. You have to show him that it’s going to be really, really tough.
“I mean, thinking back to Australia, the fact that Djokovic wasn’t showing him that he felt fresh and that he felt like he could keep it going, was the thing that distracted him, because Djokovic wasn’t giving off the impression of between the points like he was absolutely fine.
“It was in the point where Djokovic was absolutely fine, and then outside of them, he looked injured. That’s what freaked him out.”
Continuing to speak on that trend, he warned Alcaraz against being inclined to mimic that tactic: “So it isn’t as though Alcaraz has taken that as a lesson and being like, I’ve got to do exactly what Novak Djokovic does. But I think he has realised the importance that his body language can have on an opponent, and the effect that he wants to give is that he’s always ready.
“I don’t think it would work for Alcaraz to be exaggerating little niggles that he’s feeling and trying to get in an opponent’s head that way. He wants to give off the aura of energy and joy, and that’s when he’s going to play his best stuff.”
Asked if Novak Djokovic uses his slow serving, regular breaks and medical timeouts as a weapon, Roberts concluded by noting: “Yes. That’s exactly what he does. Yeah, and I think he’s the master at it.
“I don’t really have a big problem with it. I think a lot of people do. A lot of people think, ‘Oh, here he goes again. Novak Djokovic, making something out to be a big deal when it isn’t.’ There’s a part of him that feels like a big deal to him.”
Carlos Alcaraz has looked far better than Novak Djokovic at the US Open this year
Based on current form, it is impossible not to pick Alcaraz to win this match.
After all, not only did he head into the US Open with the Cincinnati title under his belt, but he has demolished everyone he’s played thus far, yet to drop a set.
Meanwhile, for all his quality and perseverance, Djokovic’s path has not been nearly as simple.
And, Taylor Fritz actually outlined plenty of Djokovic errors during their match, highlighting a weakness he will not be able to afford against Alcaraz.
If he is to beat the Spaniard, he might need to employ some underhanded tactics to disrupt his rhythm.
After all, he currently looks unstoppable.
