Things can change so quickly in tennis. In a few short months, this rivalry has come to define the entire men's season. The important question before the US Open men's singles semi-finals tonight is whether either of the remaining challengers can stop Djokovic and Alcaraz from meeting again.
The dominance shared by Djokovic and Alcaraz this year is actually reflected in the third-ranked player. Daniil Medvedev has performed extremely well in his own right, ridding himself of his tough form early in the year with an incredible run in the spring. He has now reached consecutive grand slam semi-finals and in the live rankings, Medvedev (6,800) is closer in points to Alcaraz (8,535) than he is to the No 4 player, Holger Rune (4,710).
Yet, tonight against Alcaraz, he will be the massive underdog. He is very aware of it. After rating his play throughout the tournament so far as 10/10, Medvedev was asked what level it would take to beat Alcaraz. His response? 11/10.
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