US Open: Novak Djokovic reaches 31st career Grand Slam final, equals Roger Federer’s record

Novak Djokovic avenged his loss to Zverev at the Tokyo Olympics. Djokovic is set to face Russian Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final. Djokovic gave away the German his first break of the night with a double fault in the first set.

The third set saw Novak Djokovic get a 40-0 head start in the tenth game but  Zverev resisted two breakpoints through marathon rallies, including a 53-shot exchange, before he broke the German’s serve for the set point.

Tied at two sets apiece, Djokovic won a 30-shot rally for the early break, but after defending four break points saw Zverev convert in the seventh game. He broke Zverev’s serve in the next game before emerging victorious.

Novak Djokovic said, spreading his arms wide, in an on-court interview: “There’s only one match left. … All in. Let’s do it. I’m going to put my heart and my soul and my body and my head into that one. I’m going to treat the next match like it is the last match of my career.” 

He added: “The best atmosphere of the tournament so far. These are the moments we live for and these are the kind of unique opportunities that we dream of everyday… So thank you so much for making it special,” said Djokovic, who has had a fitful relationship with the New York crowd at times.”

Djokovic leads Medvedev 5-3 in head-to-head, most recently defeating the Russian in straight sets in the Australian Open final. On his upcoming opponent he said:

“Alexander is a big champion, is someone that I admire on and off the court. It’s going to be a battle against another guy who has been in tremendous form. On the other side, I’ll be giving it all I possibly got in the tank to win this match.”