US Open: Alcaraz manhandles Lehecka, sets up semis clash with Djokovic

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

It was another day in the office for Carlos Alcaraz after handing Czechia’s Jiri Lehecka a beating, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, to march to the semifinal round of the ongoing US Open Grand Slam tournament on Sept. 3, 2025, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

Much of the postgame buzz focused less on the one-sided victory and more on his upcoming semis clash against a familiar foe.

For the ninth time in his professional tennis career, Alcaraz will square off against Novak Djokovic in the Final Four stage of the US Open.

The 22-year-old world No. 2 player is looking to halt his losing streak against Djokovic, who won the last two head-to-head matchups at the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and the championship game of the Paris Olympics.

Djokovic dominated Alcaraz in their past five games, winning four since the 2023 ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.

Alcaraz’s only win came in the grand finals of the Wimbledon Grand Slam event last year, and bouncing back on the main stage at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is his first step to clinching another finals ticket on the hard court.

During the quarterfinals, Alcaraz displayed a flawless performance to topple Lehecka, banking on his deep offensive arsenal that kept the world No. 20 guessing throughout the three-set match.

Alcaraz kicked off the showdown on a high note, serving well to hold a two-point lead before closing the opener with a service hold capped off by a passing shot winner.

It was all Alcaraz in the match, as Czechia’s last hope couldn’t withstand the Spaniard’s scoring avalanche generated from multiple forehand bombs and net prowess.

From that point, Alcaraz held on to his momentum, protecting all his service possessions in the second set to grab a 2-0 advantage.

Alcaraz wrapped up the quarterfinal win with 92 total points, including four break points and 35 markers on return.

“It doesn’t matter if you feel exhausted, you feel really tired, you feel like you cannot keep it going,” said Alcaraz during his postgame interview.

“If you show the opponent you’re fresh, you’re able to play two, three more hours, to play long rallies, it’s giving him the mindset of this is going to be really tough.”