Novak Djokovic Is Again ATP's Last Man Standing After Bizarre US Open Semifinal

Novak Djokovic's peculiar run at the 2016 U.S. Open turned bizarre early in his semifinal match against Gael Monfils. Still, Djokovic emerged on top, the same as he's been for the last two years. 

Whether it's competing for a calendar Slam or surviving Monfils' odd antics, Djokovic has become the singular constant on the ATP World Tour. So often he's the last man standing. 

He gets another shot Sunday against Stan Wawrinka, who beat Kei Nishikori 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.

Djokovic defeated Monfils 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach his 21st Grand Slam final. He moves passed Rafael Nadal and into second place for most final appearances in the open era. Roger Federer has 27.

Win or lose, Djokovic will have secured his No. 1 ranking well into 2017 and cemented his standing as the best and most dominant player on the tour.

Sure, he's suffered setbacks, including a third-round upset to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon. 

"But one look at the 29-year-old’s ATP World Tour-best 14,840 ranking points (some 5,535 points ahead of his nearest pursuer, Murray) is all you need to know about Djokovic’s dominance. Week in, week out, no one plays with such astounding consistency," Richard Osborn wrote for USOpen.org. 

The once-dominant Big Four act is no more. Djokovic is the leading man on this tour, and everybody else is part of the supporting cast. 

Federer is done for the year, recovering from knee surgery. Nadal hasn't even reached a Slam semifinal in nearly two-and-half years.

Although Murray is having the best year of his career—three Slam finals and a Wimbledon title—his summer surge was more fling than real threat to Djokovic's reign atop the ATP. 

Djokovic is the only player among the once-mighty Big Four with a winning record against each of the other three. But it's not just aging adversaries whom Djokovic lords over. He's also dominating generation next, those young guns or whatever the ATP is calling the latest group of challengers. 

As ESPN.com's Carl Bialik noted, "Djokovic, who has won five of the past seven majors, is especially dominant over the younger set. Only two players his junior have banked a major win during his career -- Juan Martin del Potro in 2009 and Marin Cilic in 2014, both at the US Open."

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Djokovic reached the semifinals having only completed two full matches due to opponents retiring. 

He jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead over Monfils, who appeared either overwhelmed or underprepared. Chris Fowler and John McEnroe, doing commentary for ESPN, criticized Monfils throughout the match. McEnroe called him "unprofessional."

Monfils denied any plans of tanking. Instead, he said he went to a bag of tricks because nothing else seemed to work against Djokovic.

"I'm competing, you know. Even I'm like at my best actually. The guy is too good. I can push him a little bit to defend also myself, (to get more) more confidence, and put him out his balance. You know, it was a great strategy, I think," Monfils told Nick McCarvel of USA Today. 

Too good is what Djokovic has been the past two years. He will be competing in his seventh Grand Slam final in two years. It's his seventh appearance in the finals at the U.S. Open. 

It's hard to tell if the ATP is witnessing the middle or near end of the Djokovic era. 

What is clear is Djokovic has distanced himself from his contemporaries and is far ahead of younger challengers. 

He's fought off all comers, and just when it looks like his days of dominating are numbered, Djokovic fortifies his lead at No. 1.

He has a tough task against Wawrinka, a man who upset him last year in the French Open final. 

Wawrinka is trying to win his third Grand Slam title and match Murray, the Big Four's weakest link. Right now, Wawrinka and Murray are Djokovic's two biggest threats. Yet Djokovic has already won as many Slams this year as Murray and Wawrinka have combined to win the past two years. 

Crazy, Djokovic is so far out in front of the rest of the ATP field that the careers of future Hall of Famers look pedestrian when compared to his.

Hurt, hobbling or not, Djokovic will be the favorite Sunday, just like any day he takes to the court.