In the US Open semis, Djokovic vs Alcaraz, to Fritz’s frustration

In tennis, unquestionably, you better have a game if you want to have a name. For years, Novak Djokovic had both. Still does. 

Djokovic will play Carlos Alcaraz in a US Open semifinal Friday. If you are surprised by Novak’s success at age 38, well he got there a while ago and seems never to have left.

As Taylor Fritz was reminded Tuesday night when they met in the quarter finals. Before the match, the thinking was that this was the best chance for Fritz to defeat Djokovic and perhaps, after that, advance to the final. Although with Alcaraz and Janik Skinner ahead, that might be more of a wish than a chance.

All that remains speculation. There’s a reason Djokovic has more major championships, 24, than any other man in the sport’s history. 

He may be 38 and arguably less effective than when at his best, but he defeated the 27-year-old Fritz 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

If life is a matter of timing, sport is more so. In the 80’s the Lakers could beat everybody except the Celtics, which was the team they had to beat to become Champions. 

Maybe if Fritz had come along earlier or later, he would own a Grand Slam Title. Then again, maybe not.

Persistence and determination only go so far. Some batters can’t hit a particular pitcher ever. Some tennis players are unable to defeat a certain opponent. Ever.

 One thinks back about the comment by the late Vitas Gerulaitis, who dropped 16 straight matches to Jimmy Connors, and then finally snapped the streak.  

“Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times.” 

At the moment, Djokovic has defeated Fritz 11 consecutive times, or every time they faced each other. The results elicited no smart-alec comments from Fritz, as from Gerulitis. Only rueful observations. 

“For me, in my head, I’m not thinking about all the losses I had to Novak like, five years ago,” said Fritz, the southern Californian who first played Djokovic in 2019, “but so many others do.”  

That’s the nature of competition. And journalists who thrive on records.

Winning streaks and losing streaks make great copy, and sometimes painful memories. It may be as difficult to think about how you’ve done against someone like Djokovic as to actually get on the court and try to deal with his forehands.

In their quarterfinal match Tuesday, Djokovic virtually had an answer for whatever Fritz tried.  And no surprise, he won the first two sets, even though his serve was broken by Fritz in the second set. 

“I was just trying to survive,” said Djokovic, a comment that seemed as much diplomatic as anything.

When you’ve played as long and as well as Djokovic, survival is mandatory. You just keep going, relying on your experience and skill.

Commenting for ESPN, John McEnroe, who won majors in his day, said about the Djokovic-Alcaraz match, “This is the way it was set up to be.”

If not, the way a frustrated Taylor Fritz wanted it to be.