Djokovic into record 47th Grand Slam semis at US Open

Novak Djokovic powered into a record 47th Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over American ninth seed Taylor Fritz at the US Open.
Djokovic continues his push for a record-extending men’s 24th Grand Slam title in the last four against another home player, either 10th seed Frances Tiafoe or the up-and-coming Ben Shelton. The 36-year-old Djokovic is through to the semi-finals in New York for the 13th time and is now 12-0 against Americans at the US Open.
Earlier, Coco Gauff thrashed Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets to reach the women’s semi-finals for the first time on Tuesday. American sixth seed Gauff dominated Latvia’s 20th seed Ostapenko from start to finish, winning 6-0, 6-2 in just 1hr 8min.
Gauff, 19, will face either Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova or Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the last four tomorrow. Gauff, beaten in the quarter-finals last year, is the first American teenager to reach the US Open semi-finals since 2001.
“It feels great, I’m so happy,” said Gauff. “Last year I lost in the quarter-finals stage and wanted to do better this year. I have a long way to go but I’m happy and will be ready for the next one. I didn’t feel comfortable at all the whole match, even at match point. She has the ability to come back no matter the scoreline so I was just trying to play every ball and hit it deep.”
On Tuesday’s evidence, the American teenager will head into the last four brimming with confidence after producing a superb display to overwhelm Ostapenko.
Ostapenko had produced the shock of the tournament in the last 16 on Sunday, ousting world number one and reigning women’s champion Iga Swiatek in three sets. But amid furnace-like heat on the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the inconsistent Latvian wilted in the face of a scorching performance from her American opponent.
Former French Open champion Ostapenko hit out at US Open scheduling after her defeat, stating she had not been given enough time to recover properly following her gruelling late-night victory over Swiatek on Sunday.
“I think it’s really hard to recover from those night matches, because after beating world No.1, I went to sleep at 5am,” Ostapenko said. “You sleep for maybe like seven, eight hours, but you don’t completely recover. “I think it’s a little bit crazy...If I play a match, a late-night session, then I suppose in one day I have to play at least at the same time or later on, because you don’t really have much time to recover.”
Gauff broke Ostapenko’s serve three times in a lopsided first set which was over in 20 minutes, with the Latvian coughing 15 unforced errors to Gauff’s two. Ostapenko was soon in trouble in the second set, suffering a service break in the opening game when Gauff’s sublime drop shot left the Latvian scrambling to the net.
However Ostapenko finally got on the board with a break of serve in the next game only to surrender that momentum in the next game when Gauff broke her for the fifth time for a 2-1 lead.
The next three games went with serve before Gauff turned the screw to break for a 5-2 lead that left the teenager serving for the match. Although Ostapenko defiantly saved two match points, Gauff clinched victory with a forehand winner.

Jabeur crashes out; Zverev faces Alcaraz in quarters
On Monday, upsets dominated the women’s draw with Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula becoming the latest highly ranked players to go crashing out. Tunisia’s fifth seed Jabeur – beaten in last year’s final – was ousted 6-2, 6-4 by China’s Zheng Qinwen after Pegual was was beaten by Madison Keys. Jabeur, who has been struggling with flu since arriving in New York, finally saw her luck run out after scrapping her way to three-set victories in her previous two games.
The Tunisian simply had no answer to 23rd seed Zheng’s blend of power and precision, with the 20-year-old from Shiyan looking far sharper than her weary opponent.
Zheng is China’s first US Open quarter-finalist since Wang Qiang in 2019. Two-time major champion Li Na reached the semi-finals in New York in 2013 and Peng Shuai did the same a year later.
Zheng’s quarter-final assignment is a daunting date with second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who celebrated her rise to the pinnacle of women’s tennis by routing Russia’s Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 to secure her last eight berth. Iga Swiatek’s exit on Sunday guarantees that the 25-year-old Belarusian will become the new world number one when the latest global rankings are released next week.
Meanwhile, 12th seed Alexander Zverev will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz today’s quarter-finals after the 2020 US Open finalist from Germany defeated Italian sixth seed Jannik Sinner in a five-set duel tinged with controversy. Zverev, who is returning to his best form after a gruesome injury at the French Open last year that forced a six-month layoff, downed Sinner 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 4hr 41min battle, which wrapped at 1.39am local time, saw an ugly incident in the fourth set when Zverev complained of a “Hitler phrase” being shouted from the stands as he prepared to serve. A male fan was subsequently identified as the alleged culprit and ejected from the arena before Zverev went on to seal victory. “
In other men’s matches on Monday, eighth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev advanced with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Britain’s Jack Draper. Rublev will now face an all-Russian quarter-final against close friend Daniil Medvedev, the third-seeded 2021 US Open champion who punched his ticket to the last eight with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Australian 13th seed Alex de Minaur. Rublev, who has known Medvedev since childhood, is godfather to his quarter-final opponent’s daughter.