Ben Shelton’s fantastic run at Flushing Meadows is over. Novak Djokovic’s march toward tennis history is still going, and he is just one win away from the all-time GOAT crown.
Djokovic gave Shelton a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4) U.S. Open semifinal lesson on Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, limiting the young American’s big serve and mocking his post-match celebration.
“At 36, every Grand Slam final could be the last one,” Djokovic said. “So I probably value these occasions and opportunities to win another Slam more than 10 years ago, because 10 years ago I felt like, ‘Hey, I still have quite a few years ahead of me.’
“I don’t know how many I have ahead of me now.”
Djokovic’s victory not only assured him a shot at a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title, but also allowed him to slam the phone down on his foe.
After his quarterfinal win over fellow American Frances Tiafoe, the 20-year-old Shelton had pantomimed taking a phone call and then hanging up.
On Friday, the 36-year-old Djokovic imitated Shelton’s gestures.
“I just love Ben’s celebration,” Djokovic said, tongue-in-cheek. “I thought it was very original, and I copied him. I stole his celebration.”
Djokovic has 23 major titles, the most of any man in history. He is one short of tying Margaret Court’s all-time mark, and will face Daniil Medvedev on Sunday in the final with a shot to become the oldest man to win a U.S. Open in the professional era.
“These occasions where I play in a Grand Slam final at this stage is almost like a present I need to accept and try to make the most out of it,” said Djokovic, who fittingly met after his win with Tom Brady, another grand old GOAT.
“Every time in a Grand Slam final it’s another shot for history.”
Shelton used his 149-mph serve to power himself to the quarterfinal win over Tiafoe that he punctuated with his phone celebration, signifying he was dialed in.
This time, Djokovic turned the tables.
Fair play, according to Shelton.
“I don’t like when I’m on social media and I see people telling me how I can celebrate or can’t celebrate. If you win the match, you deserve to do whatever you want,” Shelton said, before adding with a smile, “As a kid, I always learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so that’s all I have to say about that.”
Shelton didn’t bring the best of his game until the third set. By then it was too late.
The step up in class to face Djokovic contributed to Shelton’s 43 unforced errors.
The young American’s lefty serve wasn’t at its booming best, and he was held to just five aces.
Djokovic broke to go up 4-2 and won the first set. With the second set tied at 2-2, Shelton missed a big second serve, committing an ill-timed double fault.
The Serb took four straight games to close out the set.
Shelton finally found his game with long rallies in the third.
After a 30-ball rally, he finally got his first break to tie it at 4-all. The crowd had waited to see this fearless version of Shelton.
He took the game with a 145-mph serve and got to a set point, but Djokovic held.
Shelton’s errant forehand gave Djokovic a break point and he cashed in to lead 6-5.
The American staved off a match point with a 16-shot rally, and broke when Djokovic put an overhead into the net.
That forced a tiebreaker, which Djokovic won.
“Age is just a number, that phrase is resonating at the moment with me. I don’t want to even consider leaving tennis or thinking about an end if I’m still at the top of the game,” Djokovic said. “I’ll probably consider doing that if I get my ass kicked by young guys in the Slams in the years to come in the early stages. Then I’ll probably say, ‘OK, maybe it’s time to move on.’ But so far, I still feel I’m in the game.”
No, he’s at the top of the game.
“I learned that he’s a guy who can compete at the highest level, has a similar mentality to me on the court with how he wants to come after you, be aggressive and show his emotion,” Shelton said.
“It was really cool to see that matchup for the first time: Looking forward to hopefully getting it again.”
