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Novak Djokovic trolls Ben Shelton's celebration after semifinal win

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•09/08/23•

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Novak Djokovic
© Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Novak Djokovic is heading to the U.S. Open final. He knocked off American Ben Shelton in a thrilling semifinal Friday in straight sets to punch his ticket to the final round.

Afterward, he threw Shelton’s celebration back at him.

Following his quarterfinal victory over Frances Tiafoe, Shelton held up his hand like it was a phone and acted like he hung up. He said it meant he was “dialed in,” and it quickly went viral.

Well, after Djokovic handed him a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory on Friday, he performed the same gesture.

Shelton was asked about the troll after the match, but said he didn’t see it initially.

“To answer your second question, you know, yeah, I didn’t see it until after the match,” Shelton said, via USA TODAY’s Dan Wolken. “I don’t like when I’m social media and I see people telling me how I can celebrate or can’t celebrate. You know, I think if you want to win the match, you deserve to do whatever you want.

“You know, as a kid growing up, I always learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so that’s all I have to say about that.”

With the victory, Djokovic advances to his 10th U.S. Open final. However, he missed last year’s tournament because he didn’t receive the COVID-19 vaccine, therefore making him unable to travel to the U.S. and forcing him to withdraw. He didn’t miss a beat this year, cruising to straight-set victories in the first two rounds.

Then, in the third round, Djokovic faced his first test. Laslo Djere won the first two sets 6-4 6-4, but Djokovic battled back to win the next two 6-1 6-1. That forced a fifth set, which Djokovic won 6-3 to advance to the fourth round of the U.S. Open.

Just like he did out of the gate, Djokovic pulled off back-to-back wins in straight sets to advance to the semifinal round against Shelton. With another win in three sets, Novak Djokovic now will look to win his fourth U.S. Open title. He will take on the winner of Daniil Medvedev vs. Carlos Alcarez, which is set for Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

For Shelton, it marks the end of an impressive journey through the bracket as an unranked player. He won his first match in four sets, and advanced to the third round after Dominic Thiem retired during the second round. After defeating Aslan Karatsev, he knocked off Tiafoe in a four-set thriller to become the lone American to advance to the quarterfinals.