In another game on 2/4, No. 4 seed Djokovic defeated "German Golden Boy" Haas and successfully advanced to the semi-finals. He is also the opponent of Zhang Guan's next game.
Djokovic was the fastest-growing player in ATP last year, and his ranking increased by 70 within a year. This year, Djokovic is even more unstoppable. He has become a leader besides Federer and Nadal. He became one of the best tennis players to be qualified to challenge Federer and Nadal's dominance in tennis.
If Zhang Guan didn't appear suddenly, Djokovic would be the most-watched tennis star this year, but Zhang Guan's three Grand Slam titles are too dazzling, completely covering Djokovic's nova.
Perhaps because of this, not many people are optimistic about Djokovic in the upcoming semifinals.
"The Serbian supernova Djokovic has slowly constituted a threat to the two kings of Federer and Nadal with his efforts. Djokovic, who is only 20 years old, has climbed to the fourth position in the world. In the 2007 glorious season, he won a total of four singles titles, including two wins over Federer and Nadal to win the Masters Championship, and successfully scored four in all three Grand Slam events, these are enough to prove Djokovic's excellence. But this time Djokovic's opponent is Zhang Guan, a man who has swept three major events this year, and a person who has never lost in his tennis career! Djokovic is the fourth seed, but in the face of Zhang Guan, Djokovic still has little chance of winning. Perhaps in a few years, when the Serbian superstar is more mature, he may pull Zhang Guan down to the altar."
After Djokovic read the report on the website, there was a trace of depression in his gloomy expression.
"Serbian supernova? I've played professional tennis for three years anyway, but Zhang Guan, in his first year playing professionally, is he a supernova! Why does it sound like he's a veteran, but I'm a newbie!"
But Djokovic knows that sports are always a place to speak with strength. If he wants to change people's views, the best way is to beat Zhang Guan in the game.
"It's not impossible to beat Zhang Guan. I can beat Federer and Nadal. It's also possible to beat Zhang Guan!"
...
On September 8, the US Open entered the final sprint stage, and both men's singles semifinals will be held on this day.
One of the semifinals was Federer against No. 15 seed Spanish Ferrer. Ferrer and Nadal were in the same group, but he defeated the powerful Nadal in the fourth round, and then defeated the 20th seed Argentine Chela in the quarter-finals and met with Federer in the semi-finals. This made everyone's expected "Night Bean Showdown" not come true again. Without the "Cowboy Showdown", this semi-final also lacked appeal. With Ferrell's level, it was really difficult to stop Federer's promotion.
The other semifinal is of course the game between Zhang Guan and Djokovic, which is the first time the two have faced each other.
In the face of Djokovic, known as a "supernova", Zhang Guan does not have a sloppy mentality. Djokovic maybe just a strong young man in the eyes of others, but in Zhang Guan's eyes, Djokovic is the number one figure in the tennis world in the future, so Zhang Guan pays no less attention to Djokovic than Federer.
And Djokovic is a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers to participate in the competition and can enter the semi-finals of the US Open. It is already Djokovic's best result in the US Open, so German Djokovic also has a mentality of winning one game after another.
In the first game, Zhang Guan took the lead in serving. Zhang Guan didn't fully reveal his strength at the beginning. After the two sides tied 30-30, Zhang Guan challenged Hawkeye to get the game to 40-40, and then Djokovic returned the ball out of bounds, Zhang Guan successfully won the first game.
Djokovic didn't quickly enter the state in his service, he sent up a double serve error, after the four points, the two sides also played a 30-30 tie, this time Djokovic directly served and scored, and got the game to 40-40, and then Djokovic sent out a corner ACE ball. When everyone thought Djokovic was going to defend, Zhang Guan challenged Hawk-Eye to prove that the ball was out of bounds. Djokovic, who was sentenced to serve again, made a mistake, the score was 40-40, but fortunately, at this time, Djokovic found the feeling of serving, and finally succeeded.
In the next two rounds, the rhythm was very fast. It took only five minutes for the two sides to end the two rounds. The score came to 2-2.
In the fifth game, Zhang Guan quickly got the score to 40-15 with superb serving skills. Zhang Guan crossed the front of the net and Zhang Guan went to the next game. In the sixth game, Djokovic used his strong defense of the bottom line to lead 30-15, followed by an ACE and a serve to score directly, and he scored four points straight. In the seventh game, Zhang Guan still maintained his hair. In the eighth game, Djokovic sent a double error and a return error with a 40-0 lead. The score came to 40-30. Fortunately, this is the key. An ACE ball at that time saved Djokovic and the score became 4-4 in the first set made this game look evenly matched.
Zhang Guan remained strong and won the ninth game with a 5-4 lead. In the subsequent tenth game, Zhang Guan suddenly exerted force, and Djokovic, who continuously crossed the ball, failed to respond. Zhang Guan took the first breakpoint of today with 40-30. At this time Djokovic made mistakes in a hurry, so he lost his serve.
In the first set, the score was 6-4, and Zhang Guan won.
After losing, Djokovic looked a little annoyed. He played very well in his first four servings. The score of 4-4m in the first eight games, they were balanced, but in the crucial tenth game, he suddenly lost the game, and it was this lost game that caused him to lose the first set.
"It seems that the gap between me and Zhang Guan is not that big. When I was critical, the handling of the ball was not calm, so I lost the first set. As long as I play hard, I can still compete with Zhang Guan."
After a short adjustment, Djokovic walked onto the court again.
...
The two sides competed in the second set. The first eight games were tied 4-4.
However, in the game of Djokovic in the ninth game, Djokovic issued an ACE and got three innings. Zhang Zhang changed the ball and recovered one. The subsequent Djokovic continued two-shot out of bounds made Zhang Guan equalize the score, then Djokovic's third shot out of bounds made Zhang Guan take the lead, and Djokovic in this section had a double-error. Give Zhang Guan a game.
The three-game points were reversed, Djokovic was extremely upset, then Zhang Guan successfully defended his hair and won the set 6-4.
"Damn it! The ball was lost at a critical time!" The angry Djokovic dropped the racket on the ground, and the racket was directly smashed by Djokovic.
...
The subsequent third set seemed to be a copy of the first two sets. In the first eight games, the two sides played evenly. Then Zhang Guan won two games in a row and won by 6-4.
"6-4, 6-4 again! Damn 6-4!" Djokovic cursed angrily in his heart.