Djokovic juggernaut rolls on

Never fazed, rarely flummoxed, Novak Djokovic is so collected in best-of-five-set matches even when falling behind, as he has done repeatedly at the US Open.

No opponent, or the prospect of what's at stake, has been too much to handle. Not yet, anyway. And now he's two wins away from the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969, along with a men's-record 21st major championship overall.

Djokovic ceded the opening set for the third consecutive match at Flushing Meadows－and ninth time at a major in 2021－but again it didn't matter, because he quickly corrected his strokes and beat No 6 seed Matteo Berrettini 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in a quarterfinal that began Wednesday night and concluded after midnight Thursday.

Afterward, Djokovic cut off a question during his on-court interview, sensing where it was headed, and said:"Do not ask me anything about history. I know it's there."

As he came back and improved to 26-0 in Grand Slam play this season, Djokovic found every angle, thwarted every big Berrettini shot and was so locked in he dove and dropped his racket during one exchange yet scrambled, rose and reinserted himself in the point. He lost it, but the message to his foe was unmistakable, essentially amounting to,"I will do whatever it takes."

"The best three sets I've played in the tournament, for sure," he said.

Djokovic already earned trophies on the Australian Open's hard courts in February, the French Open's clay in June and Wimbledon's grass in July, defeating Berrettini in the final at the All England Club.

Agencies via Xinhua