Defending champion Alcaraz won the semifinals on Friday once morest Russian Daniil Medvedev 6:7(1),6:3,6:4,6:4, Djokovic then defeated Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6:4,7:6(2),6:4. In the final on Sunday, the Serb will be aiming for his 25th Grand Slam title. If he manages to do so, he would be the sole record holder across all genders.
The 37-year-old was not expected to have such a successful run following he suffered a torn meniscus in the round of 16 of the French Open and underwent surgery. He plays at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club with a bandage on his right knee – but that doesn’t seem to affect him. On Sunday, Djokovic wants to hold the trophy for his eighth Wimbledon triumph in his hands and finally celebrate his first tournament victory in what has been a disappointing year for him so far.
“There were a lot of doubts” regarding whether he would even be able to take part in the tournament, Djokovic said, reflecting on the past few weeks. He had left his start open until the draw. But his dream of winning at Wimbledon once more was ultimately stronger. “Wimbledon was always a childhood dream for me, to play here and win,” said Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in a five-set marathon in the 2023 final. “I was a seven-year-old boy in Serbia, I saw the bombs flying over my head and I dreamed of standing here on Centre Court at Wimbledon. I made Wimbledon trophies out of every material imaginable in my room.”
The world number two mastered the challenge once morest the highly talented outsider Musetti (ATP number 25) with ease. He had an answer to everything the 22-year-old Italian pulled out of his hat. The decisive factor was the tiebreak in the second set, in which Djokovic was, as so often, untouchable. After a good two and three-quarter hours, he used his fourth match point. A few weeks ago, he had needed five sets once morest Musetti in Paris – and later paid for it with a knee injury.
Hard exchange of blows
Alcaraz and Medvedev had a tough exchange of blows with four lost serves and plenty of back and forth in the first set. Medvedev won the tiebreak clearly with 7:1. The atmosphere briefly heated up when Medvedev received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct from referee Eva Asderaki during the change of ends at the end of the first set. The referee called the supervisor because Medvedev had apparently sworn.
In the second set, the Russian’s resistance continued, but a break to 1:3 was too much once morest the increasingly strong Spaniard. After that, Alcaraz seemed to have the momentum on his side. In the third and fourth rounds, the Spanish world number three took the serve from the 2021 US Open winner early on. In the fourth set, Medvedev managed to break back immediately, but that was the last stand. Alcaraz won following 2:55 hours and is in a Grand Slam final for the fourth time.
“I tried to shake off all the nerves at the beginning of the second set. It helped a lot to be ahead 3-1, following that I was able to play my own game and enjoy the match a bit more,” said Alcaraz during the interview on the court. He tried to avoid long rallies and go to the net as often as possible to not give Medvedev the opportunity to play his match. “All in all, I think I played a really good match,” he summed up.
