Novak Djokovic overcomes gutsy Ben Shelton to reach 10th US Open final (1 Viewer)

Novak Djokovic brought an end to Ben Shelton's remarkable Cinderella journey by securing a straight-sets victory over the American. This triumph propelled the 23-time major champion into his historic 10th US Open final, where he faced a spirited challenge from the talented young protege born in 2002.

Djokovic managed to conquer the late resurgence by a score of 6-3, 6-2, 7-6[4], in a match that lasted two hours and 39 minutes. In achieving this milestone, he solidified his status as the first man in the Open Era to reach 10 finals in multiple Grand Slam tournaments.

Djokovic's path to a potential fourth New York crown now awaits the winner of the second semi-final, featuring Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, to be played later in the day.

"First of all acknowledging the crowd, you guys were amazing, appreciate your support for both players. These are the kind of matches and occasions that I still thrive on, they still inspire me to wake up every day trying to work as hard as the young guys. Grand Slams are the ones that motivate me to play my best tennis," Djokovic said on the court.

"Today things were going really smoothly for me and he broke back, it was anybody's game at the end of the third set, but this is the atmosphere that we all like to play in. I still feel like I have something to give the sport.

"I expect the toughest match of the tournament regardless who is going to be across the net. Both of them are amazing players in great form. Daniil won against me here a couple of years ago, he's been one of the most consistent players at the US Open in the last four or five years. It'll be a good match for me to watch with my feet in the air, some popcorn and a few drinks!"

Despite impressing the Arthur Ashe crowd with his explosive serves and exceptional groundstrokes, Shelton's game began to unravel early on with a flurry of errors. Djokovic capitalized on this, securing five of the first seven games. Although Shelton valiantly saved four set points and had an opportunity to break Djokovic's serve when the Serbian was serving for the first set, he unfortunately committed a forehand error into the net, followed by an identical mistake on set point, allowing Djokovic to claim the advantage.

In the second set, an ill-timed double fault from Shelton cost him his serve in the fifth game. Despite a commendable effort in the seventh game, the 20-year-old surrendered the double break and netted a backhand return, placing Djokovic just one set away from the final.

Shelton's journey at Flushing Meadows seemed to be nearing its conclusion as he got broken in the opening game of the third set. However, the determined youngster refused to give up, earning his first break to level the score at 4-4 as Djokovic's return went long.

While serving to stay alive in the third set, a Djokovic shot grazed the net tape and landed just wide of the line, granting Shelton a set point. Nevertheless, the 23-time Grand Slam winner found his serve when it mattered most, saving the set point. After holding for 5-5, Djokovic gained two break points as Shelton's forehand went wide. The 36-year-old approached the net and executed a slick cross-court backhand to put himself on the verge of victory.

Despite Djokovic momentarily losing his way and facing a 15-40 deficit, he managed to stage a comeback. After squandering one match point, he hit a forehand smash into the net as Shelton remarkably forced a crucial tie-breaker.

Once again, Shelton's remarkable resilience shone through as he battled back from 5-1 down to narrow the score to 5-4. However, his improvised shot, facing away from Djokovic, missed the mark, and he found the net one last time, bringing an end to his remarkable journey.