Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the US Open semifinals for the second time, the Canadian producing a gruelling victory to advance after a season that has blended promise and setbacks.

By early February he had added two trophies and recorded a runner-up finish in Dubai. By July, a second-round exit at Wimbledon left him 2-3 across the first three majors. At Flushing Meadows he found a response, outlasting Alex de Minaur in a four-hour, 10-minute contest to move into the final four.

Eighth-seeded De Minaur held a set point that would have given him a two-set lead, but Auger-Aliassime fought back for a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5, 7-6 (4) victory. The No. 25 seed also recovered from 2-5 down in the fourth set to avoid a deciding set and completed the win after more than four hours on court.

“Four years ago, it feels like more. It was a tough couple of years, but it feels even better now to be back in the semifinals,” Auger-Aliassime said during his on-court interview. He later added: “It’s been an amazing tournament so far. It’s not over,” and “There’s still some tennis to play and the biggest challenges are yet to come. That’s what I live for, that’s what I train for. So I’m going to show up and be ready for my match on Friday.”

The run at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center followed a quarterfinal showing at the Cincinnati Open, where none of his three wins involved beating a Top 50 opponent. In New York he has taken down a pair of Top 10 opponents, including a four-set victory over third-ranked Alexander Zverev in the third round. Before this tournament, Auger-Aliassime’s last completed win against a Top 10 player came at the season-opening United Cup when he rallied past Taylor Fritz.

This return to the last four feels different from his first trip at the same venue. In 2021 he led Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 3-1 when his then teenage opponent was forced to retire due to an adductor injury in his coming out party on the major stage. The 25-year-old Montreal native now prepares for a challenging semifinal bracket; world No. 1 and reigning champion Jannik Sinner meets Lorenzo Musetti for the other semifinal spot during Wednesday’s night session inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Juan Carlos Ferrero believes match timing at the US Open could tilt the semi-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. The pair meet in the last four in New York for a ninth career semi-final clash, with Djokovic leading their head-to-head 5-3 and holding a 3-0 record on hard courts.

Alcaraz arrives at the semi-final without dropping a set in the tournament and with an exceptional run of form, having won 35 of his last 36 matches, the only loss coming to world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final. Ferrero, a former world No 1 and his coach since 2019, stresses that form alone does not make his pupil the favourite. “Carlos is playing spectacularly, with a lot of confidence, but I don’t dare say that he is a favourite,” he said. “Novak will give everything, it will be very tough.

“What happened in Australia was painful because of how everything happened, but the conditions will be different here.

“We played there at night and that favored him a little, with a lower ball bounce.

“The ball was flatter and that suited him better.

“Here, I think that if we play during the day, it will be better for us.”

Ferrero has also highlighted Alcaraz’s mental progress in New York. “We have always known that he was very good tennis-wise, but on a mental level I am seeing him better than ever,” the Spaniard stated. “In this tournament he is showing that consistency of not having ups and downs and reaching the potential that we saw he could have.

“He is still very young, despite the experience he has. It is in the process of maturing and improving. Little by little he was giving details of improving, but in this tournament is where he is being most noticed.

“He barely makes five, six or seven errors per set. That is the difference compared to before.”

Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, has battled physical issues at the event, taking medical time-outs for shoulder, foot and back concerns. After his quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz he admitted concerns about freshness. “Good thing about the schedule is now that I have two days without a match, so that helps a lot,” he said.

“So I don’t feel very fresh at the moment. But hopefully in two days will be different.

“It’s not going to get easier, I tell you that. But look, as I said, I’m going to try to take one day at a time, really take care of my body, try to relax and recover.

“The next couple of days is really key for me to really get my body in shape and ready to battle five sets if it’s needed.

“So I just would really love that, would love to be fit enough to play and to play, you know, potentially five sets with Carlos. And I know that my best tennis is going to be required, but I rise to the occasion.

“Normally, I like to play the big matches on a big stage. It’s just that I’m not really sure how the body is going to feel in the next few days. But, you know, I’m going to do my very best with my team to be fit for that.

“There’s going to be a lot of running involved, that’s for sure. I mean, there’s not going to be short points.”

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will meet for the ninth time on tour when they face off Friday in New York, a match that ensures their rivalry will have been played at all four Grand Slam events after both reached the US Open semifinals.

Djokovic, the Serbian, carries momentum from their most recent meeting, having defeated Alcaraz in this year’s Australian Open quarterfinals. That result moved Djokovic ahead 5-3 in the pair’s head-to-head series and was described in the original account as a win “at the other hard-court Grand Slam this season no less.”

The matchup in New York adds another chapter to a high-profile, recent rivalry. A brief rundown of milestones included with the original report highlights achievements from both men that frame their meetings. Alcaraz captured his maiden Wimbledon title in just his fourth tour-level event on grass, a rapid rise on a surface that had been new to him at tour level.

Djokovic’s recent history includes a 2023 Cincinnati title run that launched a 19-match win streak, a sequence noted as part of his form heading into major events. His sustained success across events and years is further underscored by his Olympic record: Djokovic struck gold on his fifth attempt after taking home bronze on his Olympic debut at 2008 Beijing.

Their US Open semifinal meeting will therefore carry the weight of history and recent form. With the ninth head-to-head encounter coming at a Grand Slam semifinal, both players bring contrasting recent results and significant career highlights into a match that completes the set of majors in which their rivalry has been contested.

Friday’s match will decide who advances to the US Open final and which of the two adds another pivotal chapter to a rivalry that now spans the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.