Alcaraz “more mature” than last year as he heads to another US Open semi-final

Carlos Alcaraz says he is a much-improved player to the one who burst onto the scene in 2022 by winning the US Open at the age of 19 and becoming the world No 1.

The Spaniard, who won Wimbledon earlier in the summer, is through to his third straight Grand Slam semi-final – and fourth in his past five events – after beating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on a hot and humid Wednesday night at Flushing Meadows.

Alcaraz: “I grew up a lot since last year”

And the bad news for Daniil Medvedev, his semi-final opponent on Friday, is that he considers himself a vastly improved player from the one who won his first slam title 12 months ago.

“I think I’m more mature now,” said Alcaraz, after seeing off an injury-affected Zverev in two hours, 30 minutes. “I grew up a lot since last year. Last year I was facing my first semi-final of a Grand Slam. Now I’m facing my fourth one.

“I feel like I’m a totally different player. Doesn’t matter that last year I got my first Grand Slam, I won my first semi-final, final of Grand Slam. I feel like I’m more mature. I deal better with the pressure with that kind of moments. I feel like I’m different person and different player.”

That’s bad news for everyone in the field and particularly Medvedev, who came through a gruelling quarter-final with his fellow Russian, Andrey Rublev, played out in nasty, humid weather that both men struggling physically.

At one stage, Medvedev spoke into the camera in the corner of the court, saying, “One player”s gonna die, and they’re gonna see”.

Alcaraz confident going into Medvedev clash

Medvedev beat Alcaraz at Wimbledon in 2021 when they first met each other; since then, Alcaraz has won both matches in straight sets, both in 2023, at Indian Wells and at Wimbledon.

With the Russian facing a challenge to recover in time for their semi-final meeting, Alcaraz has the edge, and seems to like the match-up between the two men.

“Last matches that I played against Daniil I played a tactical game played perfectly,” he said. “I did pretty well all the things that I had to do against him, so I think my game suits pretty well against that type of opponent, like Daniil.

“So I gonna try to do the same things that I did, for example, in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon, and hopefully to get the win and play the same level that I played in that matches.”

One win each away from another Alcaraz-Djokovic showdown

The final that most people seem to want – Alcaraz against Novak Djokovic, a repeat of the French Open semi-final, Wimbledon final and recent Cincinnati final – is just one win each from coming to fruition.

For now, Alcaraz is focusing on Medvedev, although he admits he has one eye on the potential showdown.

“It would be great to play a final against Novak here in New York, but both of us have really tough semi-final, so let’s see,” he said. “But obviously both of us are looking for that potential final.”

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