US Open men’s semifinals: Three grand slam champions and one newcomer battle for spot in final
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — Three tennis icons with multiple grand slams and one player seeking his first major – that’s who makes up the semifinals at this year’s 2025 US Open.
The first semifinal will see the new guard face the aging stalwart as Carlos Alcaraz takes on Novak Djokovic.
The second contest sees the hottest player in tennis, Jannik Sinner, battle Félix Auger-Aliassime, who is playing his second ever grand slam semifinal.
How to watch
The two US Open men’s semifinals take place Friday.
First up will be No. 7 seed Djokovic against No. 2 seed Alcaraz. They will be the second match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, taking to the court following the conclusion of the women’s doubles final which begins at 12 p.m. ET.
The second semifinal between No. 1 seed Sinner against No. 25 seed Auger-Aliassime is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET in the same arena.
The action can be watched on ESPN in the US, while Eurosport and Sky Sports broadcast the action in Europe and the UK, respectively. A full list of broadcast partners can be found here.
Djokovic vs. Alcaraz
Friday’s first semifinal will see two former US Open champions come head-to-head, each representing two eras of tennis.
While Alcaraz is one of the duopoly leading the youth revolution in the sport at the moment, Djokovic is a reminder of the brilliance of the past and has shown why he’s arguably the greatest ever on his way to the final four.
The Serbian superstar been pushed a bit on his journey to the semis, going four sets in three of his five victories and having to show the resiliency he’s become renowned for. He’s spent a total of 12 hours and 59 minutes on court in Flushing Meadows, while Alcaraz has only spent nine hours and 33 minutes in action.
Djokovic has looked a man renewed in New York this year, delighting crowds with some of his rallies as his dances on court following his wins.
And while he accepts that he is the elder statesmen of tennis now and that Alcaraz and Sinner are the favorites to renew their recent rivalry by facing each other in their third grand slam final of the year, Djokovic has other plans.
“We know that they are the two best players in the world,” he said after his victory over Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals. “Everybody is probably expecting and anticipating the finals between two of them. I’m going to try to mess up the plans of most of the people.”
Alcaraz, meanwhile, is hoping to cap off another successful season with yet more success.
The Spaniard is aiming for his sixth career grand slam title and second of 2025 having already won the French Open. He could also leave New York as the world No. 1 once again should he win the title or Sinner loses in the semifinals.
The 22-year-old has looked imperious on his way to the final four, not dropping a set. He’s only been pushed to a tiebreak once in his five matches.
Alcaraz has fond memories of playing at the US Open, having won his maiden grand slam title in New York back in 2022. Since then, he’s exploded into one of the superstars of the game.
Alcaraz has cut a confident figure in Flushing Meadows so far, and following his quarterfinals victory over Jiří Lehečka, he explained that it’s all part of his game.
“Between points, it’s really important as well. We’re playing two kind of matches at the same time,” he told reporters. “It is the match of playing, the points and whatever, and the match that behind the scenes, let’s say, so the body language – how you show the opponents how you feel is really important.
“Doesn’t matter if you feel exhausted, you feel really tired, you feel like you cannot keep it going. But if you show the opponent you’re fresh, you’re able to play two, three, more hours, to play long rallies, it’s giving him the mindset of this is going to be really tough.
“So for me, the way that I walk between points, with attitude, like I’m fresh, I’m really good physically, I think it’s really important to show the opponent that they are going to sweat a lot, and they are going to have to run a lot if he wants to beat me.”
While 38-year-old Djokovic already holds the record in the men’s game for the most amount of grand slam singles titles with 24, he is still on the hunt for his 25th, which would break the overall record in both the men’s and women’s game (Margaret Court also has 24 grand slam singles titles).
Sinner vs. Auger-Aliassime
Can anyone stop Jannik Sinner? That’ll be the question that Félix Auger-Aliassime will be hoping he knows the answer to when the pair faces off in the second semifinal.
Sinner is enjoying a season for the ages, despite his three-month doping ban in the middle of it.
The Italian is the world No. 1 and has won two grand slam titles in 2025 already – he missed out on competing for a calendar grand slam at the US Open after losing an epic final to Alcaraz at the French Open, a match Sinner lost after being two sets up and missing out on three match points.
Having won at Wimbledon earlier this summer, Sinner has been in imperious form back on his favored hard courts – he has won all three majors on the surface since his maiden grand slam triumph at the 2024 Australian Open.
He’s dropped just one set in his five matches and his performances have led to praise from the players he’s defeated. Lorenzo Musetti, who Sinner beat in the quarterfinals, described his fellow Italian as being “on another level.”
Even his opponent on Friday, Auger-Aliassime, seemed awed by Sinner’s quarterfinal performance.
“What to say about Jannik’s game?” Auger-Aliassime said. “He’s been obviously untouchable at times. Honestly, the next match I’m not really going to focus on my opponent more than myself. I need to play good tennis.”
Sinner is aiming for his fifth grand slam title and looks like the favorite for this year’s US Open title as he rides a 26-match winning streak at hard-court majors.
In contrast to Sinner, Auger-Aliassime is still looking to establish himself at the top-end of grand slams, with him competing in just his second semifinal at a major – his first came at the 2021 US Open.
While he may be the least experienced at this stage compared to the other three semifinalists, Auger-Aliassime has displayed the toughness needed to become a grand slam champion, going through the ups and downs that come with a potential title-winning run.
He’s shown the dominance needed to upset higher seeds, as he did against Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev, as well as battling through some struggles to overcome adversity, like he did in the quarterfinals against No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur.
After his gritty win over de Minaur, Auger-Aliassime spoke about the benefit of having to come through those tough clashes where things sometimes don’t go your way.
“Even players that win grand slams, it’s seven matches. If you play perfect or great seven matches, it’s too good, right?” he told reporters. “But for sure, there is going to be one, two, maybe three of them that are going to be a struggle, and we have seen over the years.
“So it was actually good for me. Even when I made semifinals here or quarterfinals in the Australia, I would struggle a lot in my first rounds, like ugly matches, win in five sets. So this tournament was actually different. I only lost a set until today, so it was actually a great start to the tournament.
“It’s about having that belief that it will come, and then when the moment is under pressure, that you will respond well.”
It could be a special few days for Auger-Aliassime as he has a suit fitting for his upcoming wedding scheduled for the day after the US Open final. When he was asked whether walking down the aisle or being in a US Open semifinal was more nerve-wracking, he said his previous experience will help with that.
“I don’t know. Good thing is I was in the semifinals before. Walking down the aisle, I have never done,” he said with a laugh. “So when it’s a first, it’s a special feeling, for sure. I think people that were married can for sure relate, so I’m looking forward to it.
“The fitting, we’ll see. I haven’t thought about it much yet, but obviously we’re probably going to have to postpone it. It’s a quick turnaround.”
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