Novak Djokovic Defeats Matteo Berrettini to Advance to 2021 US Open Semifinals

Two more wins.

That is all that stands between Novak Djokovic and a calendar Grand Slam after he defeated the sixth-seeded Matteo Berrettini 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in Wednesday's 2021 U.S. Open quarterfinal showdown at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

He is also two wins away from surpassing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with his 21st major championship, which would further bolster his case as the best men's tennis player in the sport's history.

Facing Berrettini at a major was nothing new for the top seed.

After all, Djokovic won the three prior matchups between the two, two of which came in Grand Slams earlier this year. He eliminated Berrettini in the quarterfinals of the French Open and defeated him again in the Wimbledon final.

The matches at the French Open and Wimbledon each lasted four sets and were anything but straightforward, so Berrettini figured to put up another challenge by relying on his powerful serve.

He used that serve to prevail in a grueling sixth game in the opening set that went back-and-forth on deuce and put himself in position where a single break could initially swing the match in his favor. He finally delivered on his fourth break point to go up 6-5 and naturally finished the set on serve to seize the early momentum.

It was the third straight match Djokovic lost the opening set after doing so in the third round to Kei Nishikori and the fourth round to Jenson Brooksby.

Just like he did in those previous two matches, Djokovic bounced right back in the second set on the way to a 6-2 win. He didn't let Berrettini create a single break point and capitalized on two of his own as he appeared to settle in and take control of the match.

What felt like a potential upset in the making at one point started to feel like a formality by the middle of the third set. Djokovic broke Berrettini's first service game and continued to look unbeatable when he was serving.

The result was another 6-2 win to put himself one set away from the semifinals, and the New York crowd was responding to his play as well.

Berrettini needed a quick start in the fourth set if he was going to turn things around and stop the Djokovic onslaught, but it was anything but that when the 20-time major champion broke his first service game.

It was all but over from there, and Djokovic ended up winning 74 percent of his first-service points and giving up just a single break point throughout the entire match.

He will face the fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.