Novak Djokovic Advances to Semifinals at U.S. Open

Novak Djokovic knew the day would present challenges, the main one being the extreme heat conditions. What he didn’t expect was Millman’s unexpected clothing change or the time-clock violations.

What mattered at the end of the day was Novak Djokovic doing what Federer was unable, and that was being victorious over John Millman and moving a little closer to winning his third U.S. Open championship. This is the eleventh time in a row that Djokovic has made it to the semifinals at the U.S Open. It would have been his twelve has he not missed last year’s tournament due to an elbow injury.

Djokovic, who is seeded 6th, won at Wimbledon this year and was expected to face Federer in the semifinals until he lost to Millman. Millman, seeded 55th, shocked the tennis star who seemed to lose energy as the fourth set got underway.

The quarterfinal match between Djokovic and Millman was played at night, and while slightly cooler, the humidity was brutal, and that saw Millman requesting permission to change clothes in the second set. Usually, this is carried out at the end of a set versus mid-set.

Millman was not the only one impacted by the temperatures as Djokovic stated,

” I was, alongside many other people, anticipating the match against Federer. I was struggling. He was struggling. We were all sweating. Changing a lot of T-shirts, shorts.

As Millman made his way off the court apologizing, Djokovic stated that he was fine having a rest and proceeded to sit down without his shirt on and cool off. The umpire granted permission to Millman due to the excessive sweating. It was granted based on an “Equipment Out of Adjustment” rule that the International Tennis Federation allows for.

U.S. Open

Djokovic is known for being one of the best returners in the game of tennis but failed to show that losing sixteen out of twenty breaking points once the set resumed. That was not the only problems he dealt with in his pursuit to defeat Millman with those included being called by the umpire for letting the serve clock run out, which is set at 25 seconds, a rule that debuted at the U.S, Open, during back-to-back set points, the first of those Djokovic double-faulted.

Commenting, Nishikori said it is something great to see as he plays his third U.S. Open semifinal. Whether he will win and advance will be seen, but to date, he has failed to advance beyond the semifinal stage.

This will be Naomi Osaka’s first time heading to the semifinals and is rumoured to be feeling the pressure. Osaka will face Madison Keys Thursday night, and Anastasija Sevastova will face Serena Williams in the other women’s semifinal.

Keys made it to the finals last year but lost to Sloane Stephens. Keys is still looking for her first Grand Slam victory and has made it to the semifinal stage in three of her last five major tennis events. At 23, she is known for powerful serves and strong forehands but also is known for being emotional.

Commenting on this, Keys said,

“I’ve gotten a lot better managing my emotions once it gets to this part and knowing that everything is going to be probably more amped up,” she said. “And not shying away from those, but just really being honest about it and talking about it.”

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