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The Latest: Djokovic wins, takes Grand Slam chance to final

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Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, returns a shot to Alexander Zverev, of Germany, during the semifinals of the US Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 10, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

NEW YORK – The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):

11:10 p.m.

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Novak Djokovic still has his Grand Slam chance.

Pushed to a fifth set by Alexander Zverev, the top-seeded Djokovic won it 6-2 to advance to Sunday's U.S. Open final.

Djokovic will play No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev, with a victory making him the first man to win all four major tournaments in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.

He broke Zverev's serve all three times in the final set after the No. 4 seed had won the fourth to even the match.

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10:30 p.m.

Novak Djokovic is going the distance in his quest to reach another Grand Slam final.

Alexander Zverev won the fourth set 6-4 to push their U.S. Open semifinal to a fifth set.

The top-seeded Djokovic has to win it to keep alive his hopes of becoming the first man to win all four major tournaments in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.

Zverev came from behind to beat Djokovic in the Olympic semifinals and needs to do it again to extend his career-best, 16-match winning streak.

Djokovic is 3-0 this year in matches that went five sets. Zverev is 1-2 after losing last year's U.S. Open final in five sets.

The winner faces No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev.

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9:40 p.m.

Novak Djokovic has pulled ahead of Alexander Zverev after three sets of their U.S. Open semifinal.

Djokovic broke Zverev's serve in a grueling final game to win the set 6-4, putting him one set away from playing for a men's-record 21st major title.

Zverev won a 53-shot rally during the final game, resting his hands on his knees after hitting a winner. But Djokovic won the next point to take the lead.

He is trying to keep alive his chances of becoming the first man to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year since Rod Laver in 1969.

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8:50 p.m.

Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev are tied at one set apiece in their U.S. Open semifinal.

After Zverev won the first set 6-4, when Djokovic never held a break point, the No. 1 seed broke the No. 4-seeded German's serve twice to take the second set 6-2.

Djokovic has lost the first set in his last four matches. He has so far not dropped another set in any of those matches.

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8:15 p.m.

Alexander Zverev has won the first set against Novak Djokovic, who will have to come from behind for a fourth straight match at the U.S. Open.

Zverev took the lead when Djokovic double-faulted in the ninth game, then served it out to win the set 6-4.

Djokovic lost the first set against Kei Nishikori, American Jenson Brooksby and Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini. He won the next three sets each time to keep alive his hopes of the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969.

In the Olympic semifinals last month, it was Zverev coming back after dropping the first set to beat Djokovic. The German went on to win the gold medal.

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8:05 p.m.

American Robin Montgomery has reached the junior girls singles final.

The No. 7 seed from Washington beat Solana Sierra of Argentina 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Montgomery, who turned 17 on Sunday, will play No. 6 seed Kristina Dmitruk of Belarus in the final.

Montgomery and Ashlyn Krueger, seeded third, are also into the girls' doubles final.

Top-seeded Shang Juncheng of China and No. 3 Daniel Rincon of Spain will play for the boys' title.

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7:35 p.m.

Novak Djokovic has to get past the hottest player on the men's tennis tour to keep alive his Grand Slam hopes.

The No. 1 seed is on the court in the U.S. Open semifinals against No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, whose 16-match winning streak includes a victory over Djokovic in the semifinals of the Olympics.

Djokovic needs two wins to become the first man to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.

The Serb is trying to make his ninth U.S. Open final, which would move him past Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl for most in the professional era.

Zverev reached the final last year, falling to Dominic Thiem in five sets.

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5:20 p.m.

Daniil Medvedev is in the U.S. Open final for the second time in three years after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.

Twice a point from losing the second set, the No. 2 seed from Russia won 10 of the final 12 games.

Medvedev, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2019 final, will play either No. 1 Novak Djokovic or No. 4 Alexander Zverev on Sunday in a bid for his first major title.

Djokovic is trying to become the first man to win all four Grand Slam tournaments since Rod Laver — who was in the crowd for Medvedev's victory — in 1969.

Auger-Aliassime, the No. 12 seed, was the first Canadian man to reach the U.S. Open semifinals. He was trying to join Leylah Fernandez and give his country a player in both the men's and women's final.

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4:50 p.m.

Daniil Medvedev is a set away from another U.S. Open final after a late rally to seize the second set from Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Auger-Aliassime, the No. 12 seed from Canada, served for the second set at 5-3 and twice was a point away from evening the match. But Medvedev broke his serve en route to winning the next four games.

The No. 2 seed from Russia leads 6-4, 7-5.

Medvedev lost in the 2019 final to Rafael Nafal. He was stopped in the semifinals last year by eventual champion Dominic Thiem.

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3:20 p.m.

The men's semifinals have started at the U.S. Open, with Daniil Medvedev playing in them for the third straight year.

The No. 2 seed from Russia is on the court against No. 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime, the first Canadian man to make a U.S. Open semifinal.

Medvedev reached the final in 2019, losing to Rafael Nadal in five sets. He was beaten in straight sets by eventual champion Dominic Thiem in last year's semifinals.

The winner will play top-seeded Novak Djokovic or No. 4 Alexander Zverev in Sunday's final.

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2:50 p.m.

Coco Gauff and Caty McNally advanced to their first Grand Slam women’s doubles title match when one of their U.S. Open semifinal opponents stopped playing and left the court in a wheelchair with a leg injury.

Luisa Stefani landed awkwardly near the net during a first-set tiebreaker, collapsed to the ground and was unable to continue. She and Gabriela Dabrowski were leading the tiebreaker 2-1 when the semifinal was halted.

Gauff called seeing what happened “heartbreaking” and said: “I don’t want to win a match like this. ... I just wish her the best.”

The American duo of Gauff and McNally will face Zhang Shuai of China and 2011 U.S. Open singles champion Sam Stosur of Australia in the doubles final.

Gauff is 17 and McNally is 19, adding to the teenage theme of the women's tournament at Flushing Meadows.

Emma Raducanu, 18, faces Leylah Fernandez, 19, in the singles final Saturday.

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2:10 p.m.

Rajeev Ram of the U.S. and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain have won the U.S. Open men's doubles championship for their second Grand Slam title as a team.

The fourth-seeded duo of Ram and Salisbury beat the seventh-seeded pair of Jamie Murray of Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Friday.

Ram and Salisbury add this trophy to the one they earned at the 2020 Australian Open. They were the runners-up at Melbourne Park this year.

Murray, whose younger brother Andy won three major singles championships, and Soares won two Grand Slam titles together in men's doubles in 2016, including the U.S. Open.

Soares also won the doubles at Flushing Meadows last year, when his partner was Mate Pavic.

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12:30 p.m.

The men's doubles final has started a busy day at the U.S. Open that Novak Djokovic hopes to end with his Grand Slam hopes intact.

The No. 1 seed faces No. 4 Alexander Zverev under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the second men's semifinal. If Djokovic wins, he will be one victory away from a men's-record 21st major title, along with the first calendar-year Grand Slam by a man since Rod Laver in 1969.

The first semifinal in the afternoon has No. 2 Daniil Medvedev against No. 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime, the first Canadian man to reach the last four in the U.S. Open.

They play after the completion of the men's doubles final, which has the fourth-seeded team of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury against No. 7 Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

The women's doubles semifinals also are Friday, with American teenagers Coco Gauff and Caty McNally playing in one of them.

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