"I’m definitely not going on court with a white flag": Novak Djokovic out to 'mess up' Sinner-Alcaraz US Open final plans

Novak Djokovic battled his way into another Grand Slam semifinal at the 2025 US Open, overcoming Taylor Fritz in a tense four-set encounter. Speaking to the press afterwards, the 24-time major champion admitted he wasn’t at his best but relied on grit, experience, and heart to get through.

Djokovic also said in his press conference that he will try to mess up the plans that are likely in place in the minds of many for Sinner and Alcaraz to face off in the final of the 2025 US Open, a real possibility. But next up for Djokovic is Sinner potentially as he aims for revenge after being made to look ordinary by the emphatic Italian.

“Let’s see in two days’ time,” Djokovic said when asked if he felt fresher than he did ahead of his Wimbledon semifinal earlier this summer. “The good thing about the schedule is now I have two days without a match, so that helps a lot. I don’t feel very fresh at the moment, but hopefully in two days it will be different.”

Djokovic was made to work hard throughout the opening sets as Fritz piled on the pressure. “As I said on the court, he was the better player in the second and third sets,” Djokovic explained. “I got really out of trouble in the second, somehow found a way to clinch that set after serving for it at 5-4, dropping serve, then re-breaking. Honestly, for my standards I wasn’t playing well. I didn’t feel the ball as well as I did in the third round.”

He credited Fritz’s aggressive style while also acknowledging that his own resilience kept him alive. “Taylor is the kind of player who, if you allow him to play, he’ll dictate, be aggressive, stay close to the line, take forehands and punish you. I was just trying to survive, stay in rallies, make him play. It helped me that he wasn’t making a lot of first serves in the first couple of sets. Then his percentage went up and it became much more difficult to stay in his service games.”

In the decisive fourth set, Djokovic adjusted. “In the important moments I served well, mixed it up, came to the net, tried to give him a different look. I waited patiently for my opportunity and realistically I just had one game to break him—the last one. He gifted me with the double fault.”

Even so, Djokovic admitted he felt far from sharp. “On my two match points before that I played too conservatively, just waiting for his mistake instead of taking the ball early. I didn’t feel my shots as well as a few days ago. It was one of those days where you just have to grind, play with your heart and fight. That’s what really gave me the win in the end.”

The 37-year-old knows that tougher challenges await. “It’s not going to get easier, I can tell you that,” he said. “I’ll try to take it one day at a time, take care of my body, relax and recover. The next couple of days are really key to get my body in shape and ready to battle five sets if needed. I’d love to be fit enough to play potentially five sets with Carlos. I know my best tennis will be required, but I rise to the occasion. Normally I like playing big matches on a big stage. I’m just not sure how the body will feel in the next few days, but with my team I’ll do my best to be fit. There’s going to be a lot of running, that’s for sure. There won’t be short points.”

When asked about the prospect of facing Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, Djokovic was frank: “We don’t need to spend many words on them. They’re the two best players in the world. Everybody is probably expecting and anticipating a final between them. I’ll try to mess up those plans.

“Sinner still has to win a couple more matches to get to the final, but both of them are definitely playing the best tennis of anyone here. They’ve been dominant since the beginning of the tournament. But I’m definitely not going on court with a white flag. I don’t think anybody does, particularly not me.”

Consistency remains Djokovic’s calling card: “I’ve put myself in another Grand Slam semifinal this year. I’ve been very consistent in the Slams this season—that’s what I said at the start of the year, that I wanted to bring my best tennis and best results there. Here we are. I have another shot. Hopefully I’ll be fit enough and play well enough to keep up with Carlos, and then it can be anybody’s match.”

Djokovic also described the tension of the closing stages, when he failed to convert two earlier match points. “I was disappointed to drop both match points because I was in the rally in both,” he said. “In that last game I read his first serve well. He missed more first serves there than in the entire set, so he gave me chances to be in the rallies. But I was just pushing the ball, not doing much with it, and I ended up in defensive positions and missed two backhands.

“Then I had a very good return and a couple of good points at deuce, which gave me another match point. I was debating whether to step in on the second serve or stay back. I stayed back, and I’d had pretty good success doing that today because it gave him a different look. Whether that provoked him into a double fault, I don’t know. But it changes the perspective for your opponent when they see you in a different position at such a crucial moment.

“That’s how it ended up, unfortunately for him. The fight in that last game, the intensity we brought out, was amazing. Hopefully people loved it.”