US Open 2021 - 'It is all or nothing' - Alex Corretja urges Novak Djokovic to stay calm when he faces Alexander Zverev

ByEurosport

Updated 10/09/2021 at 09:28 GMT

“He has been waiting a long time for this moment and needs to calm down, think about what he wants to do and go for it as it might be one of the moments of his life," Alex Corretja said of the US Open semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev. "It is the toughest moment for him. It is all or nothing."

Alex Corretja has urged Novak Djokovic to remain calm in what could be "one of the moments of his life" when he faces Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the US Open.

World number one Djokovic is two wins away from completing the calendar Grand Slam, but he must overcome the man who dashed his hopes of Olympic Games gold if he is to reach the final.

Corretja feels Zverev can take confidence from beating Djokovic in Tokyo, but does not think that match will have much of a bearing on the outcome in New York.

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“It can help Zverev in the way that when you have beaten someone recently, you feel like you can do it again,” Eurosport expert Corretja said.

“But this is a totally different story as this is best of five and this is a Grand Slam. Zverev has not won one. Novak has 20.

“It could just give Zverev a bit of hope but Novak is more experienced in these sorts of matches.”

Corretja feels Djokovic’s experience of winning grand slams could hand him a vital edge when the pair face off on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday evening.

“The fact Zverev beat him in the Olympics maybe takes a bit of pressure off Novak, knowing that he needs to go in thinking ‘I have to go in at 100 percent and I cannot relax and be overconfident.’

“I think it will be a tight match, but I feel Novak has something extra as when he faces these moments he always raises his level.”

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Djokovic has improved as the fortnight has progressed at Flushing Meadows, and Corretja feels the Serb will need to up the bar again if he is to beat Zverev and keep his bid for a 21st Grand Slam on track.

“He beat [Matteo] Berrettini and he raised his level,” Corretja said. “Against Zverev he will have to raise it again.

“It is the toughest moment for him. It is all or nothing.

“He has been waiting a long time for this moment and needs to calm down, think about what he wants to do and go for it as it might be one of the moments of his life.”

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