Novak Djokovic will continue his bid to make it three grand slams out of four in 2023 when he faces home hope Ben Shelton in the semifinals of the US Open.
Djokovic has endured an uneven recent past at Flushing Meadows, winning the last of his three titles in New York in 2018.
He suffered his sixth final defeat in the final major of the season with a straight-sets reverse to Daniil Medvedev in 2021, a run that split two years of controversy for the 36-year-old.
In 2020, he was aiming to back up victory at the Australian Open and a final appearance at the French but was defaulted during his round four match against Pablo Carreno Busta after accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball he hit away in frustration.
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Last year, the Serbian star was unable to compete after his decision not to take the COVID-19 vaccine meant he did not meet U.S. entry requirements.
He is making up for lost time this time around, however, and sits just two victories away from a 24th slam triumph that would draw him level with Margaret Court’s all-time Open era singles record.
Djokovic has won four of his five matches at the tournament so far in straight sets, dispatching Shelton’s compatriot and ninth seed Taylor Fritz 6-1 6-4 -6-4 in the quarterfinals.
His only scare came against countryman Laslo Djere in round three, where Djokovic fell two sets behind before rallying to win 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3.
A mouthwatering final matchup with Carlos Alcaraz is in prospect, with the world No. 1 facing Medvedev in the other semi. The pair produced an epic Wimbledon final, where Alcaraz prevailed in five sets before Djokovic gained a measure of revenge at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, coming from a set down to win a pair of tiebreaks and secure the trophy.
Shelton is the other man, alongside Medvedev, standing in the way of that scenario having enjoyed a breakout grand slam run.
The 20-year-old, whose world ranking of 47 is poised to climb considerably, is a surprise semifinalist having beaten fellow Americans and seeded duo Tommy Paul (14) and Frances Tiafoe (10) in the previous two rounds.
A left-hander with a huge serve and an aggressive style, Shelton is unlikely to leave himself wondering when he gets his chance against arguably the greatest player ever to pick up a racket.
Novak Djokovic vs. Ben Shelton prediction, odds
As you’d expect given their relative levels of experience and career resumes, Djokovic is a heavy favourite.
This will be the first career meeting between the two players and, even though Djokovic is meticulous in his preparation, Shelton can perhaps use that element of the unknown to his advantage.
However, as Djere became the latest man to find out, taking sets off Djokovic is one thing but beating the grand slam master over the five-set distance is something else entirely.
Buoyed by the home crowd and the occasion, Shelton can certainly take one of the opening two sets but our pick is for Djokovic to prevail with something to spare in four, which you can get for fairly generous odds of 20/1 with BetOnSports.
|
Djokovic |
Shelton win |
Djokovic to win first set | Shelton to win first set | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetOnSports (UK) |
1/11 | 13/2 | 1/5 | 10/3 |
