Novak Djokovic dominates Matteo Berrettini and qualifies for US Open semi-finals

There is an air of déjà vu that floats around Novak Djokovic’s matches during this US Open. For the third time in three games, the Serbian lost the first set on the way, Wednesday night, in his quarter-final against Matteo Berrettini (he also lost one, the second, in the first round). But once again, the world No. 1 was able to straighten the bar without panicking to maintain his dreams of a 21st major title and a calendar Grand Slam by winning in four sets (5-7, 6- 2, 6-2, 6-3).

It is as if each player, after giving everything he can in the first act, finds himself the tank dry in the following minutes. In the eighth, Jenson Brooksby had enough to annoy the Serbian until the half of the second set. Berrettini, seeded No. 6 in this US Open, did not hold the fight as much. Blame it on a break conceded very soon after winning the first round. On a mammoth serve from the Italian at 210 km / h, “Nole” sprang to slam a sublime comeback which forced his first break in this match.

A much cleaner Djokovic in the game

A harsh way of whistling the end of recess and knocking out his opponent who had yet been able to seize his chance at the start of the game. It was not necessarily beautiful (33 unforced errors between the two players in this first set) but it oozed the fierce battle. And the Transalpine had been a little more domineering and had, after three failed attempts, snatched the Serbian into play with a sublime passing under the roars of the Arthur-Ashe court. He was solid on his serve to finish the round behind and take control of the match (7-5 ​​after 1:17).

Then Djokovic woke up as Berrettini passed away and one does not go without the other, no doubt. A shutout, a break then a second to pick up a set everywhere. A score that became impeccable that he unrolled until the end of the match and that he punctuated with a few appeals to the public to seek support in his march towards history. He harangued the crowd after saving a break-through ball in the third set or even after a nicely unchecked passing in the fourth.

Zverev beat him in Tokyo

To sum up, the Serbian played much better, his best tennis of the tournament. From 17 unforced errors in the first set, it fell to only three in the second, three also in the third and four in the last. Without waste, playing close to his baseline, he stifled the Italian who was undoubtedly to remake the film of his other duels against the world No. 1 this season. At Roland Garros and then in the Wimbledon final, he had already been stopped by Djokovic. And for him, too, this defeat had an air of déjà vu.

The Serb, after having dismissed five, still has to remove two final obstacles. The first is already known since Alexander Zverev has an appointment in the semi-finals with the world n ° 1. The German, who remains on a series of 16 victories between the Olympics, Cincinnati and this US Open, is the last to have beaten the Serbian in Tokyo. He had ended his dream of a golden Grand Slam (the four Grand Slam tournaments plus the Olympic gold medal) in a meeting where Djokovic, domineering, had cracked. He is one of the last two to be able to put an end to his Grand Slam hopes at all.