Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz prevailed over their respective foes in contrasting fashion in the semifinals to forge a rematch of last year's blockbuster battle for the Wimbledon crown.
Djokovic dumped Lorenzo Musetti, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-4, while Alcaraz rallied from an opening set setback to fend off Daniil Medvedev, 6(1)-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, on Friday (Friday evening to early Saturday morning, Philippine time), July 12, to arrange a sequel to their scintillating five-set duel on tennis' hallowed grounds which went the young Spaniard's way last year.
Championship match is set tonight, July 14, at 9 p.m., Philippine time.
Eyes on the ball – and on the prize – for 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. | Photo (c) Wimbledon
Alcaraz, boosted by his recent Roland Garros conquest, is looking to score a repeat of his 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, heartbreak over Djokovic. But Djokovic is also aiming for the same thing as he did twelve months ago: to tie Roger Federer's record of eight titles in Wimbledon.
A 25th Grand Slam trophy – one which could eclipse holder Margaret Court's 24 – also awaits Djokovic, who has a knack for breaking records and rewriting history.
While Djokovic's sheer dominance would not be denied as he holds the fort for the Big Three with Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal still trying to find his form after injury, Alcaraz, touted as their heir apparent, showed many times in his young career that he is ready for the big stage.
“I feel like I’m not new anymore. I know how I’m going to feel before the final. I’ve been in this position before and I will try to do the things that I did to win last year. I will try to be better and try to do the things that went well," said Alcaraz during the on-court interview after hiking his head-to-head against 2021 US Open champ Medvedev to 5-2.
Djokovic is into his 37th major final; Alcaraz, his fourth, winning all his previous three.
While there is a consensus that Alcaraz is well on his way to carving his own path to greatness as the future of the sport, the evergreen Djokovic said that the 21-year-old wunderkind's fourth Grand Slam title would have to wait as he is unwilling to relinquish his spot at the pinnacle of tennis anytime soon.
Carlos Alcaraz's smile has been his trademark on the court. | Photo (c) Wimbledon
"He is deservedly one of the greatest 21-year-olds we've ever seen in this sport. We're going to see a lot of him for sure in the future, no doubt. He is going to win many more Grand Slams. But maybe, hopefully, in two days, maybe not this one. But in the future, when I retire in about 15 years, of course. I'm joking," laughed Djokovic, during his own on-court interview hours later.
"Jokes aside, you know he already beat me here in a thrilling five setter, so I don't expect anything less than that. Honestly, a huge battle on the court. He is complete as a player as they come. It's going to take the best of my abilities on the court overall to beat him on Sunday," he added.
ROAD TO THE FINAL: Djokovic is well-rested following De Minaur walkover in QF
Novak Djokovic, just four weeks removed from a torn meniscus surgery that abruptly cut his title defense at Roland Garros, got his needed warm-up against Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva whom he beat 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in the opener in less than two hours.
He faced a bit of resistance against Brit wildcard Jacob Fearnley (6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5) and world No. 38 Alexei Popyrin (4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3)) but still got past both in four sets.
The real test awaited him in the fourth round as he was set to face 15th seed Holger Rune, twice a winner in their previous five meetings. The Serb passed with a dominant 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 showing.
An untimely withdrawal from quarterfinal foe Alex de Minaur (hip injury) gave Djokovic a two-day rest prior to meeting first-time major semifinalist Musetti.
In all, Djokovic just spent 12 minutes and 54 seconds on the court, a little more than four hours less than third-seeded Alcaraz, who clocked in 17 minutes and six seconds.
Alcaraz needed two tiebreaks to dispose of Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal, 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-2, and unseeded Australian Aleksandar Vukic, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2, in the first two rounds before going through the wringer against No. 29 seed Frances Tiafoe, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2, in the third.
He got through lefty Frenchman Ugo Humbert, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5, then highest-ranked American Tommy Paul, who has just freshly lifted the trophy at Queen's, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, to reach his sixth major semifinal appearance against Medvedev.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Djokovic leads Alcaraz, 3-2
Two years ago, a day after beating his idol and countryman Rafael Nadal, 19-year-old Alcaraz shocked Djokovic in their first-ever meeting in the Madrid Open semifinals, 6-7(5) 7-5 7-6(5) to become the first player to beat the Spaniard and the Serb in the same clay-court event.
A year later, Djokovic got his revenge as he downed a cramping Alcaraz, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, in the semis of Roland Garros where the long-time world No. 1 Serb eventually reigned supreme with his 23rd Grand Slam title, breaking his tie with Nadal for the most major trophies won by a man.
But then current world No. 1 Alcaraz quickly learned his lesson and gave Djokovic his first loss at the Wimbledon Centre Court in ten years, 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, to lift his first trophy there and second major since the 2022 US Open. The victory enabled Alcaraz to become just the fifth man in the Open Era to win multiple major titles before turning 21.
While Alcaraz has stirred plenty of talks about the changing of the guard in tennis, Djokovic showed the precocious talent that he is still the king as he saved one championship point against the Spaniard, 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4), in the Cincinnati Open two months later to level their head-to-head anew at 2-2.
In their third meeting in 2023 and fifth overall in their budding rivalry, Djokovic came through with a fairly easy win this time, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals of the season-ending ATP Finals. The Serb went on to beat another rising prodigy in Jannik Sinner in the championship round to hoist a record seventh crown in the tournament after previously sharing the most titles with Federer.
YEAR-TO-DATE: Djokovic 18-6 W-L, 0 title vs. Alcaraz 26-6 W-L, 2 titles
Djokovic is still on the hunt for his first-ever title this year as he enters his first final of the season – his best finish being at the Australian Open where he lost to eventual champion Sinner.
Into his worst start to a year since 2018 where he won his first title of the year in Wimbledon, Djokovic will try to break the drought later today and surpass Federer (35) as the oldest champion in tournament history at 37 years old.
While Djokovic boasts of a 7-2 record in the Wimbledon Last Dance and a staggering 24-12 overall in major championships, 21-year-old Alcaraz is currently one-of-one in London and 3-0 overall in Grand Slam finals.
The Spaniard successfully defended his Indian Wells title against Medvedev last March before ruling the Parisian major in a five-set thriller against Alexander Zverev to become the youngest man to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces.
Alcaraz aims to achieve the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double tonight to add another line in his already stellar resume – doing so will make him the sixth man who will be able to log the feat next to Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic.
Djokovic has said that he sees similarities between him and Alcaraz. But there will be no similar fate for either player later tonight, as they each vie to write their own history in tennis' grandest stage.