(Wimbledon) ‘It was the long awaited final’: the words are from Novak Djokovic, who on Sunday will face in a bid to clinch his 24th Grand Slam title and his eighth at Wimbledon, world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz who has adapted his game extraordinarily on the lawn.
Friday in the semi-finals, Djokovic sent young Italian Jannik Sinner, 8th in the world at 21, back to his studies, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), signing a 34th victory in a row at Wimbledon where he is unbeaten since losing in the quarter-finals in 2017.
“The score does not reflect the reality of what was happening: it was very close and the third set could have turned to his advantage”, commented Djokovic, who did not lose again on the Center Court, where will have held the final on Sunday, for ten years and his defeat in the final against Andy Murray in 2013.
“He has proven himself to be one of the leaders of the new generation and one of the very best players in the world. And I am happy to be part of this new generation! joked the 36-year-old Serb who loves to stand up to young people.
He became the third player over 36 to reach the final at Wimbledon after Ken Rosewall (39 in 1974 when he lost to Jimmy Connors) and Roger Federer (almost 38 in 2019 when he lost to to Djokovic).
He also qualified for his 35th Grand Slam final, setting an all-time record ahead of American Chris Evert.
He had clinched the men’s record by reaching his 32nd final last year at Wimbledon (one more than Federer who still holds the record of 12 finals on English grass).
On Sunday, Djokovic will look for a fifth straight title to match the record streaks of Federer and Björn Borg.
Even at the Australian Open where he holds the record of ten titles, he has never won so many in a row.
In 2022, Djokovic and Sinner had faced each other a round earlier and the Serb won in five sets after losing the first two. This time, three sets were enough for him to dismiss the Italian without ever being threatened.
Because, as often, Djokovic was intractable on key points: he notably saved the nine break points he had to defend, including two set points in a row for Sinner in the third set.
And he was once again imperial on his faceoffs: he had 11 aces, had no double faults and had a 30% first serve rate overall.
“Now I’m going to rest and recover: I’m going to watch the other half from my massage table,” Djokovic announced.
This second half opposed two players who finally succeeded this year in adapting to the grass their game so effective on other surfaces.
Neither the Spaniard Alcaraz nor the Russian Medvedev had so far passed the knockout stages at Wimbledon. But the showdown was cut short, as Alcaraz proved superior to win 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
The Spaniard didn’t hesitate to get into the net and he did well: he scored 28 points on the volley from 36 climbs.
Until 3-0 in the last set, the game was one-sided. But Medvedev managed to put madness into the match in a streak with four breaks in a row.
He still ended up giving up after a magnificent exchange concluded by a cross passing while advancing from Alcaraz.
“It was very difficult to finish the match, we had to stay very focused. Daniil fought until the end, he is an incredible fighter and player. I really had to give my best and be aggressive all the time, that was key,” explained the Spaniard.
At 20, he will be looking to win his second Grand Slam title, after last year’s US Open.
