Support truly
independent journalism
Carlos Alcaraz is eyeing up double Spanish success on a “perfect Sunday”.
The 21-year-old is one win away from a second successive Wimbledon title after fighting from a set down to defeat Daniil Medvedev.
It was a repeat of last year’s semi-final, which the Spaniard had won easily, but this time he was made to work harder for his 6-7 (1) 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory.
Now he must try to stage another repeat in the final, with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic again the man across the other side of the net.
Alcaraz has become a firm favourite at Wimbledon but he experienced booing on Centre Court after his match when he suggested it was going to be a good day for Spanish people on Sunday.
The title decider on Centre Court will be followed by Spain’s Euro 2024 final against England in Germany, which football fan Alcaraz will be hugely invested in.
“Being a Spaniard, yeah it would be a perfect Sunday,” he said of the possibility of a double triumph. “It’s going to be a really fun day for Spanish people watching my final, watching the Euros final.
“I have to think of my work. Hopefully let’s see if the final is going to be at a good hour to watch the Euros final.”
Real Madrid star Luka Modric was in Alcaraz’s support box, while the world number three has been in touch with his compatriots in Germany.
He said: “Obviously these last days I’ve spoken with a few players. We send best of luck in every match. Obviously we’ll send the best of luck on Sunday.
“Luka is a really nice person. We’ve met a couple of times. He wanted to come, and for sure I admire him. There’s always going to be spot for him. Amazing guy, amazing athlete that I admire a lot. It’s great to have him in the box supporting.”
Alcaraz will contest a fourth major final and a second in a row after his first title at the French Open last month, and the Spaniard again wowed the crowd with some superb shot-making.
He made a nervous start and Medvedev deservedly won a first set that featured four breaks of serve but Alcaraz settled, with the spark coming in the third game of the second set when he won a terrific all-court rally to hold serve, putting his finger to his ear to encourage the crowd to cheer louder.
And it was the third seed roaring towards his box moments later when a forehand pass whipped cross-court gave him the break for 3-1.
From there Alcaraz was always in control, although there were some bizarre lapses, like the overhead miss late in the third set that left him comically holding his head in his hands, or the careless game he played to allow Medvedev to break back at the beginning of the fourth set.
Alcaraz admitted he sometimes struggles to stop himself going for the spectacular but he is in great spirits heading into the final.
“Sometimes it’s a disaster,” he said. “But it helps me a lot to relax, smile, that I’m having fun on the court. Sometimes it’s difficult to do the simple shots.
“I’m coming into a final feeling great with really high level of tennis, really high level of confidence, moving well. I have confidence enough to do a really good result on Sunday.”
Medvedev was left with mixed feelings, saying: “The match was much closer than last year. But he’s tough to play. I felt like I was serving good, definitely not worse than the other matches. Only five aces. He seemed to touch almost every ball on the court.”
Asked to compare playing Alcaraz with Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the Russian said: “I played the big three when they were over 30. (It’s) a bit different. Probably in my career he’s the toughest opponent I have faced. But I have time to try to do better.”
Medvedev, meanwhile, insisted he did not commit a possible default offence when he reacted angrily to umpire Eva Asderaki ruling he had not got to an Alcaraz drop shot in time when he lost serve at 5-3 in the opening set.
Asderaki was so unhappy with what Medvedev had said that she talked to the referee and supervisor before ultimately just giving the Russian a warning.
“I said something in Russian, but not over the line,” he said. “So I got a code for it. I didn’t say anything too bad.”
