Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic to satisfy once more in Wimbledon closing

Third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain fought off nerves and a slow start to defeat Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and advance to his second straight Wimbledon final on Friday in London.

Alcaraz, the defending champion, also beat the Russian in 2023 in the semifinal round before topping Novak Djokovic for his first Wimbledon title. Alcaraz has a 17-2 overall record at the All England Club.

Alcaraz and Djokovic will be having a rematch Sunday after seven-time Wimbledon singles champ Djokovic, the second seed, notched a 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory over Lorenzo Musetti, the No. 25 seed from Italy.

“He’s deservedly one of the greatest 21-year-olds we’ve seen in this sport,” Djokovic said after the match of facing Alcaraz again. “And we’re going to see a lot of him in the future. …

“He beat me here in the Wimbledon finals (last year) in a five-setter. I don’t expect anything less. He’s as complete a player as there is. It will take the best of my abilities to beat him on Sunday.”

Friday’s first match on the grass courts started in favor of Medvedev, who jumped to a 5-2 lead but gave it back when Alcaraz broke him to get back on serve. In the tiebreak, Medvedev dominated, winning seven of eight points.

Despite having the momentum, Medvedev couldn’t hold it, losing serve to go down 3-1 in the second set and giving Alcaraz the only opening he’d need.

In all, Alcaraz broke Medvedev’s serve six times out of 15 chances. Entering the match, the Russian had been broken only eight total times in his five matches during the fortnight.

Alcaraz hit 55 winners compared to 31 for Medvedev, whom he said was a tough opponent and was glad to get past him. The key, he said, was figuring out how to avoid long rallies.

“I started really, really nervous,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “I think he was dominating the match, playing great, great tennis with his serves. He was difficult for me; he tried to pull out all the nerves. At the beginning of the of second set, it was really helpful to be up 3-1, and after that I could play my own game. … I think I played a really good match.”

Alcaraz won 85.7 percent of his service games (18 of 21) and was broken just three times. Medvedev managed to break his serve just once after the first set.

Djokovic and Musetti each had 34 winners in their battle and Musetti committed nine fewer errors than Djokovic’s 31.

Musetti led 3-1 in the second set before Djokovic recovered to force a tiebreaker. The Serbian won the first three points and rolled to take a 2-0 lead.

Djokovic can tie Roger Federer’s record for most Wimbledon titles (8) if he can beat Alcaraz. A victory would also give Djokovic a record 25 Grand Slam titles. Margaret Court won 24 Grand Slam crowns on the women’s side.

“I’m very pleased and happy to be in another final,” Djokovic said. “But I don’t want to stop here. I want to get my hands on that trophy on Sunday.”

Djokovic’s strong run comes after he underwent surgery June 5 on his right knee to repair meniscus damage. He had to withdraw from the French Open in the quarterfinal round after sustaining the injury in a victory over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo on June 3.

“There was plenty of doubt,” Djokovic said. “Coming into London about eight days before the tournament started, I didn’t know whether I would be a part of the tournament or not. Keeping everything open until the day of the draw. I played a couple of practice sets with top players and an exhibition match that proved I was in a good enough state to be not just part of Wimbledon but go deep in the tournament.”

Djokovic is 3-2 all-time against Alcaraz.

Alcaraz is 3-0 in Grand Slam finals. He said he is happy to have Saturday off and will escape tennis by playing a round of golf.

“I’m so, so bad compared to my tennis,” he said of his golf game. “I love playing golf. I’m not too good … I can’t hit straight but, yeah, it helps me a lot to, you know, to turn off my mind a little bit, not think about tennis and relax.”

–Field Level Media