‘Not going with a white flag’: Novak Djokovic ready for Carlos Alcaraz clash at US Open

TOI in New York: Novak Djokovic is a relentless competitor undiminished by age. Fierce and unyielding.So, while tennis looked for a challenger to the Sincaraz stranglehold, the riveting rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic listened.

The late-20s cohort was discussed threadbare as were the early-20s bunch, even the teenage prospects.

Names were floated and discarded, performances didn’t quite live up to the promise.

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And so, the 38-year-old answered the call. Yet again, in a major semi-final for only the 53^rd time. Having made the last-four at every major this year, Djokovic now faces the second-seed Alcaraz in a generational showdown at the US Open.The 24-time major champion showed flashes of his mental steel in putting out last year’s finalist Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 before a noisy full-house that only cheered on the home hope but tried to make themselves a factor in the match. Djokovic, who saved 11 of 13 breakpoints he faced in the match, extended his head-to-head with the American to 11-0. The Serb, a four-time winner here, who arrived in New York having not played a match since Wimbledon, has worked his way into match fitness.

Djokovic leads Alcaraz 5-3 in their head-to-head clashes, including victories in their last two meetings -- in the Australian Open quarterfinals and the gold-medal match at the Paris Olympics last summer. Friday will mark their first encounter at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre.“I’m definitely not going on court with a white flag,” Djokovic said of the semifinals. “I put myself in another semi-finals.

I have been very consistent, in the Slams this season, that's what I said at the beginning of the year. I would like to perform my best tennis at the Slams. Here we are. I have another shot.”“I'm going to take it one day at a time, really take care of my body,” the 38-year-old said of the schedule that gives him two days off before his next match. “I would love to be fit enough to play and play, potentially five sets with Carlos. There's going to be a lot of running involved, it's not going to be short points.

Normally I like to play the big matches on a big stage. It's just that I'm not really sure how the body is going to feel.

” Djokovic’s all-back gear has been one of the stand outfits this fortnight. The polo shirt, inspired by tennis rackets, has his logo on the back and a silicone crocodile on the chest. His custom made black shoes have the No 24 on it.Earlier on Tuesday, Alcaraz, whose body language at the season’s final major reflects a calmer, more composed evolution from his usual high-energy edge, let that poise reflect in his play.

The 22-year-old, looking for his first hard-court major title since 2022, brushed aside Jiri Lehechka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to make the semi-finals.Alcaraz argued that body language between points was key.“We're playing two kinds of matches at the same time. It is the match of playing the points and the match that is behind the scenes, the body language,” he said. “How you show the opponents how you feel is really important.

Doesn't matter if you feel exhausted, but if you show the opponent you're fresh, you’re giving him the mindset that this is going to be really tough.”“So for me the way that I walk between points, with the attitude, like I'm really good physically, is important,” he said.The Spaniard then sized up his 38-year-old opponent before laying down the gauntlet.“I know Novak is hungry, I know his ambition for more (titles),” he said, adding, “I played a lot of times against him.

I really want revenge.”

Meanwhile defending champion Aryna Sabalenka returned to the US Open semifinals without striking a ball on Tuesday night when her opponent in the quarterfinals, the 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova pulled out of their match with an injured knee.

The Czech, whose battle with injuries has kept her out of tennis for long stretches, hurt her knee during her fourth round win over the ninth seed Elena Rybakina. Sabalenka will take on the fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semifinals on Thursday in a rematch of last year’s final.