By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday August 18, 2023
Novak Djokovic is kicking into high gear at the Cincinnati Masters.
Photo Source: TTV
If Friday night is any indication, watch out for Novak Djokovic at the US Open.
The 36-year-old 23-time Grand Slam champion has picked up steam with every round in Cincinnati and on Friday night he blasted past ninth-ranked American Taylor Fritz in decisive fashion, 6-0, 6-4, to reach the semifinals at the Western and Southern Open.
Djokovic has won all five sets he has played this week and looks fit and ready to make a play for his 24th major title at this year’s US Open.
But he still has a way to go this weekend, as he’s slated to face 2021 Cincinnati champion Alexander Zverev in the semifinals before a potential clash with Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
Alcaraz, who faces Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz on Saturday in Cincinnati, was the man who thwarted Djokovic’s bid for the calendar Slam in this year’s Wimbledon final, and the tennis world awaits what would be the pair’s third meeting of 2023.
Looking eager to continue building his momentum, a laser-focused Djokovic ripped through the first set against Fritz in 20 minutes, then rebounded from a break down to finish off the top-ranked American in fine fashion
Total match time? A blink-and-you-missed-it 61 minutes.
"I just managed to get off the blocks really strong, played an almost perfect, flawless first set,” Djokovic told the ATP's Jill Craybas on court after the match. “Then I started off really poorly in the second and handed him the break, but from 2-4 down I played really four solid games in the second. Just overall a great performance."
Djokovic claims his 248th career Top-10 win and improves to 43-12 lifetime at Cincinnati. The Serbian legend is just one win from tying both Ivan Lendl and Rafael Nadal for third place on the ATP’s all-time win list.
If he takes the title, he’ll pass them both and head to New York, once again, as the man to beat.