By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) – Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will lock horns in a sequel to last year’s Wimbledon title blockbuster after producing commanding displays to ease through their semi-finals on Friday.
Spain’s defending champion Alcaraz took a hammer to the wall that is Russia’s Daniil Medvedev as he beat the fifth seed 6-7(1) 6-3 6-4 6-4 before seven-time champion Djokovic clinically disposed of Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 7-6(2) 6-4.
Neither match truly captivated the Centre Court crowd but Sunday’s final promises a fitting climax to a soggy Championships, especially if it scales anywhere near the dizzy heights of last year’s classic won by Alcaraz in five sets.
That defeat was Djokovic’s first defeat on Centre Court for a decade and the clinical way he disposed of the 22-year-old Musetti suggests he hungry to seize back his crown.
“I am satisfied and pleased, but I don’t want to stop here – hopefully I get my hands on the trophy,” Djokovic, who used his racket to play an imaginary violin after winning match point but this time avoided picking a fight with the crowd, said on court.
“(Alcaraz) is one of the greatest 21-year-olds we’ve ever seen in this sport and he will win many more Grand Slams but hopefully not this one on Sunday.”
Despite his valiant attempt to emulate compatriot Jasmine Paolini, who will contest Saturday’s women’s final, 25th seed Musetti never really looked like preventing Djokovic reaching his 10th Wimbledon and record-extending 37th Grand Slam final.
“I have to say today was really a joke at the end how he was returning my serve,” Musetti said.
There were rays of hope. The stylish Musetti recovered from a break down in the first set and had Djokovic in trouble at 5-5 in the second with the Serb 0-30 down on serve.
But Djokovic, as so often, flicked the emergency switch, banged down three aces to avert the danger and then cruised through the ensuing tiebreak for a two-set lead.
Even then Grand Slam semi-final debutant Musetti, the clear fans’ favourite, refused to throw in the towel.
But when Djokovic is in the mood for business, nothing stands in his way and on Sunday he will have more history to write with a record 25th Grand Slam title within touching distance.
There is still the small matter, however, of containing Alcaraz who will be seeking to retain the title on what could be a momentous day for Spain whose soccer team will kickoff later that evening against England in the Euro 2024 final.
That clash in Berlin, just like the one in London’s leafy SW19, looks too tight to call.
But Alcaraz, bidding for a fourth Grand Slam title, will need to avoid the wobbles that have seen him drop sets in every match from the third round onwards.
The third seed was overwhelming favourite to beat Medvedev after outclassing him at the semi-final stage last year.
Watched by Real Madrid’s Luka Modric, Alcaraz started slowly to trail 5-2. He worked his way back into the set but was wrong-footed by Medvedev’s pinpoint hitting in a one-sided tiebreak.
Medvedev, given a warning for some unsavoury language when he dropped serve at 5-3 in the opener, knew Alcaraz would respond and the Spaniard duly turned up the power dial to break serve for a 3-1 lead in set two.
Alcaraz controlled the third set after an early break and despite a blip in the fourth when some errors gave Medvedev a lifeline, he went on to win with something to spare.
Asked for his thoughts on Alcaraz v Djokovic — The Sequel, the Spaniard said: “I know what I have to do and I’m sure he knows what he has to do to beat me.
“It’s going to be a really interesting one for sure.”
It will be the first Wimbledon repeat final since Djokovic met Roger Federer in the 2014 and 2015 title matches.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Comments