NEW YORK (AP) —
Daniil Medvedev predicted he would need to play "11 out of 10" to get past defending champion and top-seeded
Carlos Alcaraz at the
How did Medvedev rate his performance against Alcaraz in the semifinals Friday night?
"I played 12 out of 10," Medvedev declared after eliminating Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a rematch in the final
against Novak Djokovic, a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4) winner over unseeded American Ben Shelton earlier Friday.
The No. 3-seeded Medvedev won his
lone major championship at Flushing Meadows in 2021 by defeating 23-time Slam winner Djokovic in that year's title match. That prevented Djokovic from completing what would have been the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969.
Even before the start of these two weeks, folks had been anticipating a Djokovic vs. Alcaraz showdown on the last day of the event. Theirs is an inter-generational rivalry — Djokovic is 36; Alcaraz 20 — that has fascinated the tennis world in recent months.