NEW YORK (AP) — There was a moment, albeit a brief one, during his loss in the U.S. Open semifinals Friday that Novak Djokovic appeared to be making a match of it against Carlos Alcaraz.

It was early in the second set, not quite an hour into the proceedings at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and Djokovic produced the sort of level that has carried him to 24 Grand Slam titles , more weeks at No. 1 in the rankings than anyone and all manner of other prizes.

He cracked a return of a 132 mph serve, won the point and earned his first break chance. Then he cashed that in by coming out on top in a nine-stroke exchange, just the second service game Alcaraz lost over these two weeks. Suddenly, Djokovic was up 2-0 in that set. He threw an uppercut and held the pose. Spectators jumped out of their seats

See Full Page