 Novak Djokovic vs Ben Shelton is the first semi-final for the men's US Open for 2023. Both guys have had impressive roads to get to this stage. Shelton entered the tournament unseeded and would take on Cashion in the first round. And after dropping the first set, would fight back to win 1-6-6-3-6-2-6-4. In the second round he'd take on Dominic Teem. And after a close first set, Teem would have to retire 6-7-6-1-Love Retirement. In the third round he'd take on Karatsov. And after splitting the first two sets, Shelton would come back to win 6-4-3-6-6-2-6-Love. Fourth round he'd take on Tommy Paul. A man that he'd played in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open earlier in the season. And after taking the first two sets, Shelton would eventually get through in 4-6-4-6-3-4-6-6-4 to advance to another Grand Slam quarter-final. In the quarter-finals, Shelton would take on the number 10 seat Tiafo. Who had had a really good run to this stage. And after splitting the first two sets, Shelton would save set point in the third to get through in 4-6-2-3-6-7-6-6-2 to advance to his first Grand Slam semi-final. Djokovic started the tournament as the number two seed. And would take on Muller in the first round. There's no problem getting through in straights. 6-Love, 6-2-6-3. In the second round he'd take on Marius. And again, no problem getting through in straights. 6-4-6-1-6-1. In the third round he'd take on the 32-seed Jera. Who he'd had a battle with last year in Belgrade. And this was no different. With Djokovic having to come back from two sets to love down. Eventually getting through in 5-4-6-4-6-6-1-6-1-6-3. In the fourth round he'd take on the Qualifier Goyo. Who'd been very impressive to win this many matches to this stage. And after a close second set, Djokovic would get through in straights. 6-2-7-5-6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals Djokovic would take on the number nine seed Fritz. A man he destroyed in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago. And even though Fritz put up a fight in the third, Djokovic would get through in straights. 6-1-6-4-6-4 to advance to the semi-finals again. These guys have never played before. And that's of course because Shelton is so young and so new to the tour. In only his fifth Grand Slam match he is playing a semi-final. Of course Djokovic has played more semi-finals at slams than anybody else in the history of the game. So there's going to be a hell of a clash. If Shelton is going to win this one he needs to serve big and he needs to use the crowd. In fact he actually used the crowd against Tiafo so well even though they're both from America. He is the excitement machine and this crowd are going to want to get hit behind him as well. He needs to serve big and hit big ground strikes and push no lay around. Djokovic is going to win this one. He needs to block out the crowd and just play his game. He might not win the first set but he needs to wear Shelton down. He can do that if he plays a long match and of course we know. Djokovic can go to the distance with anybody and maybe just wear down Shelton. Maybe get frustrated and get some errors. I'm so pumped for this matchup. The young buck versus the goat. It's going to be so much fun to watch Shelton and what he can do against Djokovic. Massive serve, massive returns. I'm going to go with Djokovic though in four. I think Shelton gets a set. Maybe the first set or the second and gets that crowd behind him. But I think Djokovic in the long run will get the win in four. But let me know in the comments below who's making the final.