Djokovic beats Shelton and is in the US Open tennis final for the 10th time

 New York US Open tennis tournament(hard court, $65 million endowment): Men: Singles – Semifinals, September 8, 2023. Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates his victory.

New York – Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is the first US Open finalist. The tournament number two beat home American Ben Shelton 6:3, 6:2, 7:6 in their 100th jubilee match on the concrete of New York and continue to cherish the chance to win the 24th Grand Slam title and the third this year. On Sunday, he will challenge either reigning champion Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz or last year's winner Russian Daniil Medvedev.

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Photo gallery: US Open 2023 tennis tournament

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Thirty-six-year-old Djokovic made it to his 36th Grand Slam final and 10th at the US Open. In Flushing Meadows, he can win his fourth title and the first since 2018. He also played for the trophy the year before, missing the tournament last year due to the lack of vaccination against the coronavirus.

The 20-year-old Shelton paid the price mainly for 43 unforced errors, Djokovic had 25 of them. The native of Atlanta, who was ranked 47th in the world before the tournament, still improved his Grand Slam maximum, his best so far this year was in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

Djokovic stepped up to his 87th victory at the New York Grand Slam quite confidently. In the third set, he had the advantage of a break twice, but Shelton, to the delight of the packed stands on the Arthur Ashe court, was always able to equalize and force a shortened game. In it, Djokovic took an early 5-1 lead and advanced in the semifinal after two hours and 42 minutes.

“These are the matches that inspire me to wake up every day and work hard like the young guys . I couldn't be happier to have made it to another Grand Slam final,” said Djokovic in an on-court interview, who imitated Shelton's winning gesture of putting down his phone during the celebrations, drawing boos from some fans.

The native of Belgrade has been certain since the 1st round that he will return to the post of world number one after the US Open. With his twenty-fourth Grand Slam triumph, he can move away from Spain's Rafael Nadal (22) as the most successful tennis player and equal the Australian Margaret Court's absolute record.

Djokovic is also the third player in history to have triple-digit starts at the US Open. Only Swiss Roger Federer (103) and American Jimmy Connors (115) played more matches there.

Ram and Salisbury became the first in more than a century to win the third consecutive US Open

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury became the first men's pair to win their third consecutive US Open doubles match in more than a century. The American-British pair defeated Indian Rohan Bopanna and Australian Matthew Ebden 2:6, 6:3, 6:4 in today's final.

Ram, 39, and Salisbury, who is eight years his junior, won their fourth joint Grand Slam title. They triumphed for the first time in 2020 at the Australian Open and in the following three years always in New York. Both also have two titles in the mix, Ram won in Australia in 2019 and 2021 alongside Barbora Krejčíková.

Ram and Salisbury extended their winning streak at Flushing Meadows to 18 games. Maurice McLoughlin and Tom Bundy last won three consecutive US men's doubles championships in the years 1912-14.

At the age of 43, Bopanna tried in vain for the first Grand Slam triumph in men's doubles. He played the US Open final thirteen years ago, but just like in 2010, he failed today.

US Open tennis tournament in New York

(hard surface, $65 million endowment ):

Men:

Singles – semi-finals:

Djokovic (2-Serb.) – Shelton (USA) 6:3, 6 :2, 7:6 (7:4) Austr.) 2:6, 6:3, 6:4.

Women:

Doubles – semi-final:

Dabrowská, Routliffeová (16-Can. /N.Zel.) – Xie Shu-wei, Wang Sin-yü (8-Taiwan/China) 6:1, 7:6 (7:4), Zvonareva, Siegemund (12-Russia/Germany) – Brady, Stefani (USA/Braza.) 6:4, 6:1.

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