Novak Djokovic is one win away from a record-breaking 21st major title and the first calendar grand slam in men's singles since 1969.

He needed the full five sets to do it, but the world No. 1 from Serbia defeated No. 4 Alexander Zverev of Germany 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the US Open semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday.

Djokovic, 34, is tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 20 major singles titles -- the most in men's tennis. He will face Russian and world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the final on Sunday.

"There's only one match left. All in, let's do it. I'm going to put my heart and my soul and my body and my head into that one. I'm going to treat the next match like it is the last match of my career" Djokovic said after his victory on Friday.

Rod Laver was the last man to complete the calendar grand slam, winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open all in the same year, in the year 1969. Laver posted a photo on Twitter of himself watching the semifinals on Friday, saying, "Great to be back in New York, watching the history channel."

Serena Williams sought to complete a calendar grand slam six years ago, which had not been done on the women's tour since Steffi Graf in 1988. Graf also won Olympic gold in singles that year, making her the first tennis player – male or female – to complete a so-called golden slam, winning Olympic gold in addition to all four majors.

Williams was then stunned in the semifinals of the US Open by Roberta Vinci.

Serena Williams sought to complete a calendar grand slam six years ago, which had not been done on the women's tour since Steffi Graf in 1988. Graf also won Olympic gold in singles that year, making her the first tennis player – male or female – to complete a so-called golden slam, winning Olympic gold in addition to all four majors.

Williams was then stunned in the semifinals of the US Open by Roberta Vinci.

"At the end of the day, you have to go out on the court and deliver. You're expected to always win. For a great legend that she is, she always has that expectation from everyone, including herself," he said. "It's no different with me."

In his post-match press conference, Zverev said of Djokovic: "If you look at the stats, if you look the pure game of tennis action, he's the greatest of all time.

"There is a reason why he's won 20 grand slams. There's a reason why he's spent the most weeks at world No. 1... I think mentally he's the best player to ever play the game. Mentally in the most important moments, I would rather play against anybody else but him."

On Sunday, Djokovic will face Medvedev. Earlier Friday, the 25-year-old overcame 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in straight sets to reach his third grand slam final. In this year's US Open, he has only lost one set.
In this year's US Open, he has only lost one set.
This will be Medvedev's second US Open final, having lost in five sets against Nadal in 2019. Earlier this year, he fell in straight sets against Djokovic in the Australian Open final.

Medvedev stated after his semifinal victory that his encounter against Djokovic in Melbourne taught him a lot.

"He was playing different than the matches he did before me, and I was kind of not ready for it. So now I am," Medvedev said of Djokovic's tactics.

Of the final, he said: "It's going to be more interesting in terms of tactic what I'm going to prepare. No matter the score, I'm just going to turn up the heat, if I can say, and try to do my best, even more than what I did in Melbourne."