Novak Djokovic will face world number one Carlos Alcaraz as he bids to win his eighth Wimbledon title on Sunday. It’s the final we all wanted to see from the moment the draw was made as the two top players in the world clashed on Centre Court. It will be a final to treasure and there is a feeling that Alcaraz could do something special against the greatest we’ve ever seen.
The semi-finals were relatively straightforward after all the build up. Both players won in straight sets, and both looked comfortable against their opponents as they asserted their dominance.
Djokovic was back home, on Centre Court at SW19 to put in another vintage performance on his way to his ninth Wimbledon final. He won 6-3 6-4 7-6 and is now he is just one win away from tying the great Roger Federer and his previously insurmountable figure of eight titles in this corner of London. But it wasn’t plain-sailing, despite the comprehensive straight sets scoreline for the Serbian.
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Yannick Sinner’s first Grand Slam semi-final was a gargantuan occasion for him, but he failed to live up to the occasion over the first two sets. In the blink of an eye the first set had escaped him, 6-3 to Djokovic. He was better in the second but the 6-4 scoreline provide the best in the world was well in control.
The only trouble he had was a ‘hindrance’ call from the umpire which put him under pressure on one of his serves. Drjokovic was left furious at the decision, one that he claimed had never happened before in his career, but looking back at the replay, his scream clearly came once the ball was over the net and Sinner was attempting to return it.
"The hindrance early on in the match could have changed the course of the match. I felt nervous after that call, but I managed to re-group,” he said after the win.
"It's probably the first time it's happened to me, I don't normally have extended grunts. Maybe it was an echo in the roof. It was a call that I have to respect."
The third set saw a marked improvement from Sinner, and as we reached the crunch stage, with Sinner 5-4 up, Djokovic looked like he had crumbled under pressure. It is not something we have seen before but a wide shot gave Sinner two set points. Djokovic took a moment and clapped the fans at 15-40 down after hitting the net with his first serve and then went on to save both points.
Djokovic held. As he always does. And then he forced a tie-break, which is practically a guaranteed win for him at this point. He played six tie-breaks at French Open, didn’t make an unforced error in any of them. Once again, despite falling a mini-break down, victory was always going to be his, and he quickly mopped up his mess to secure victory.
“We are part of an individual sport so you have to rely on yourself and put yourself in the best physical and mental state before heading out on court.I feel 36 is the new 26, it feels pretty good. I feel a lot of motivation.
"This sport has given me and my family a lot. I will return a favour to this sport and play as much as I can."
Djokovic will play Carlos Alcaraz in a highly-anticipated final after the Spaniard overcame Daniel Medvedev in a four-set thriller. The right-handed Rafa was exceptional as he came up against an opponent who was so deep from the baseline he was nearly sat in the royal box.
The Spaniard managed to keep his composure however, and midway through the first set, got himself a break point and took it with aplomb. From that point, he was in total control and took the first set 6-3. He never looked in danger on his own serve and was utterly brilliant with his returns.
Two years ago, Medvedev beat Alcaraz here, but since them the Spaniard has become a different beast. Now world number one, he broke twice in the second to assert his dominance. Every time Medvedev tried to get back into it he was repelled.
Alcaraz had the touch and guile to beat him at every turn and the momentum stayed with him right through the second set and into the third. The man looking to follow up his US Open win last year with one here kept serving and volleying, and Medvedev was helpless to stop him. An early break in the third put him 3-0 up, but the belief didn’t drain from the Russian.
He went 0-40 up on Alcaraz’s next service game and a double fault, his first real error handed the break back to the world number 3. But this is where Alcaraz’s mental fortitude came in, as he put Medvedev under immense pressure and after three attempts, broke back. The tie swung again as the Russian broke back again. Then Alcaraz broke again to make it four games on the bounce when neither player could retain their serve.
It put the Spaniard in a position to serve out the match. He did so in spectacular fashion with a beautiful winner on match point after Medvedev made him run all over the show. It was a wonderful finale to a brilliant semi-final, and now we have the final we all wanted, as Alcaraz pulled off a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win.
The Wimbledon final awaits, and it should be a cracker.
