NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic faces Carlos Alcaraz, and defending champion Jannik Sinner meets Felix Auger-Aliassime in the U.S. Open men’s semifinals Friday.
All have won multiple Grand Slam titles except Auger-Aliassime, a 25-year-old from Canada trying to make it to his first major final.
Alcaraz vs. Djokovic is scheduled to be played first in Arthur Ashe Stadium, starting around 3 p.m. EDT. Sinner vs. Auger-Aliassime is scheduled to begin after the first semifinal ends, but not before 7 p.m.
The two winners will face each other on Sunday for the title. Sinner could become the first repeat men’s champion in New York since Roger Federer won the hard-court tournament five years in a row from 2004 through 2008.
Djokovic, who is 38, owns 24 singles trophies from the four most important tournaments in tennis, including four at Flushing Meadows, and is trying to become the first player in the sport’s history to get No. 25.
Alcaraz, 22, has won five, and Sinner, 24, has won four. They have combined to collect the past seven Slam championships and nine of the last 12. Djokovic won the other three in that span, most recently at the 2023 U.S. Open.
The No. 1-seeded Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz are trying to set up a showdown in the final at a third consecutive major event. Alcaraz defeated Sinner in five sets at the French Open in June; Sinner beat Alcaraz in four sets at Wimbledon in July.
Djokovic has made it to the semifinals at all four Slams in 2025 — and exited at that stage at the first three, including losses to Sinner at Roland-Garros and the All England Club.
Auger-Aliassime is in the final four for the second time in his career. He was eliminated in the U.S. Open semifinals in 2021.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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