Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic qualified for the Wimbledon final on Friday, where they will face each other on Sunday in a rematch of the 2023 final, where the Spaniard won in five sets.
For this, the 37-year-old Serbian, world No. 2, dominated 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (25e), still too tender on the London turf for the seven-time winner of the trophy.
For his part, the 21-year-old Spaniard (3e) again beat, like last year but with more difficulty, the Russian Daniil Medvedev (5e) 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“He dominated the match at the beginning, playing great tennis, with great serves. It was difficult for me, but when I broke to lead 3-1 in the second set, I started to put my game together. Overall, I played a good match,” Alcaraz analyzed.
He had beaten Medvedev in three straight sets without any discussion at the same stage last year.
This time, as Alcaraz had predicted, the Russian made the “wall” in the first set: he returned everything, countered all the attacks and forced Alcaraz into making mistakes.
“Tried everything”
“I tried everything: playing long rallies, going up on the volley, as much as possible. I didn’t want him to play his game, I didn’t want to exceed ten or twelve shots per rally. But it was difficult to knock down the wall!” explained Alcaraz.
He eventually found the solution by gradually preventing his opponent from entering into the long exchanges that he loves. By making him move forward, rather than laterally, even if it meant making him play volleys, an area that is not his strong point.
For his part, Djokovic had a valiant opponent, but one who was totally up to his standard.
At 22, Musetti had never reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam – when Djokovic played his 49th match on Friday.e semi-finals – and had never gone beyond the third round – when Djokovic had 97 wins and 11 defeats before this semi-final.
So the Serb, who had benefited from the withdrawal of Alex De Minaur in the quarter-finals and had therefore not played since Monday, displayed unwavering determination after this victory.
“I’m very happy to be in the final, but I don’t want to stop there, I want to lift the trophy now,” he said before even leaving Centre Court.
“After my retirement”
“I say it a lot, but this story is worth repeating: Wimbledon is the tournament I dreamed of when I was seven years old and the bombs were flying over my head. I looked in the mirror and imagined myself on that court…” he recalled.
The Serbian is seeking an eighth Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer’s record and a 25the Grand Slam title to improve his own record.
Already, he will play his tenth final at the All England Club (only Federer has done better with 12) and the 37the in Grand Slams, improving his own record (the second, Federer, played 31).
And as he recalled on Friday, his participation in the tournament had been seriously compromised by the left meniscus injury that had forced him to withdraw before his quarter-final at Roland-Garros. He had undergone immediate surgery in Paris.
“When I arrived in London, eight days before the start of the tournament, I didn’t know if I would be able to play,” he insisted, stressing that he had subsequently assured that if he was playing, it was because he felt “capable of going all the way.”
At the end, he is almost there. The final obstacle remains, the final opponent: Carlos Alcaraz, the new absolute weapon of tennis.
“He will win many Grand Slams, but I hope not the day after tomorrow (Sunday). When I retire,” Djokovic joked about the upcoming final.