Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz stormed back to defeat Daniil Medvedev and next faces seven-time winner Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final.
Third seed Alcaraz found himself 5-2 down during the first set on Centre Court, which Medvedev eventually claimed on a tie-break.
The Spaniard had struggled with his serve throughout the Championships, but eventually found his radar to level before he produced his best for the key moments in sets three and four to clinch a 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory in just under three hours.
Djokovic has set up a repeat of the 2023 Wimbledon final after he ended Lorenzo Musetti’s best Grand Slam run at the semi-final stage 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.
Alcaraz was briefly jokingly booed during his on-court interview after he made reference to Sunday’s Euro 2024 final between England and Spain.
“It will be a good day for Spanish people as well,” defending champion Alcaraz bravely said when asked to look ahead to his own final.
Boos followed before Alcaraz countered with a smile: “I didn’t say Spain is going to win but I say it will be a fun, fun day.
“Obviously it will be a really difficult match. Let’s see who I am going to play on Sunday.
“I feel like I am not new anymore. Yeah, I know how I am going to feel before the final. I have been in this position before, I will try to not do the things I did wrong last year, I will try to be better and try to keep doing the right things.
“I started really, really nervous. Daniil was dominating the match, playing great tennis. It was difficult for me.
“I tried to pull out all the nerves in the second set and it was helpful to be up 3-1. After that I could start to put out my game. I think in the end I played a really good match.”
Medvedev seemed fortunate not to be defaulted during the opening set.
After umpire Eva Asderaki decided Medvedev had not got to an Alcaraz drop shot before it bounced twice, resulting in a break of serve to the 21-year-old, Medvedev reacted with what appeared to be a foul-mouthed rant at the official.
Asderaki climbed down from her chair and talked to the referee and supervisor – an unusual occurrence – before eventually giving Medvedev just a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Medvedev then changed his tactics, not only trying to keep a more aggressive position but coming to the net with surprising regularity.
While his forays were not always successful, they put question marks in the mind of Alcaraz, who lacked discipline on his groundstrokes, too often making errors on regulation shots.
A slew of them presented Medvedev with a break in the fourth game. Alcaraz immediately hit back only to drop serve again, this time his favoured drop shot letting him down.
It did the business with Medvedev serving for the set at 5-3, leading to the Russian’s indiscretion, for which he could be heavily fined.
But it was the former US Open champion who dominated the tie-break, winning the opening five points and finishing it off with a 121 miles-per-hour second serve.
The spark for Alcaraz came in the third game of the second set, when he won a terrific all-court rally to hold serve.
And it was the third seed roaring towards his box, which included Real Madrid star Luka Modric, moments later when a forehand pass whipped cross-court gave him the break for 3-1.
Medvedev’s net adventures were now becoming less frequent with the 28-year-old concentrating on trying to resist the barrage of pressure coming from the other end.
Alcaraz had found his magician mode, drawing gasps from the crowd one moment with the power of his groundstrokes before feathering drop shots to leave Medvedev scrambling.
He forged ahead early in the third set and, when he disagreed with Asderaki’s call of ‘not up’, he merely wagged his finger in her direction.
There were still bizarrely lackadaisical moments from Alcaraz but those were far outnumbered by the sublime, and he wrapped up victory after two hours and 55 minutes when a final Medvedev forehand flew wide.
Alcaraz is 3-0 in major finals so far and will go up against 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Mussetti on Sunday.
Djokovic will face defending champion Alcaraz in Sunday’s showpiece after beating surprise finalist Musetti.
World No 25 Musetti hit an array of eye-catching winners, including a scorching forehand around the net in the second set tie-break, but Djokovic produced a ruthless display to progress into a 10th Wimbledon final where he will aim to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight titles at the All England Club.
The 37-year-old did not give any rowdy spectators the chance to get under his skin this time as he booked a revenge mission against the young Spaniard who captured his title 12 months ago. That final defeat last year was Djokovic’s only loss in his last 50 matches on Centre Court.
“During the match it’s business time, trying to outplay your opponent,” he said.
“I’m very happy to be in another final but I don’t want to stop here. Hopefully I’ll get my hands on that trophy.”
Djokovic quickly shifted focus to Sunday’s final, saying during his on-court interview: “Well, I said it many, many times, Wimbledon has always been a childhood dream for me, to play it and win it.
“It has been an incredible journey and I try not to take it for granted every time I am on this unique court. During the match, it is business time. And I am obviously very satisfied to be in another final, but I don’t want to stop here.
“Hopefully I’ll get my hands on that trophy on Sunday.”
On defending champion Alcaraz, 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic said: “He is the greatest 21-year-old we have ever seen in the sport and we’ll see a lot of him in the future.
“He is going to win many, many grand slams, but hopefully in two days, not this one.
“He is as complete a player as they come and it will take the best of my abilities on the court to beat him on Sunday.”
Djokovic clinched the first break of the match for 4-2 and turned to wave his arms at the crowd, asking for more noise.
They duly obliged, but the din was nothing compared to the roar which met 22-year-old Musetti breaking back as Djokovic served for the opening set.
The underdog is an undoubtedly watchable player; inventive, crafty and with a one-handed backhand which is very easy on the eye.
However, when he tried one drop-shot too many and watched it land apologetically into the net, Djokovic eased a set in front.
Musetti hit back immediately, though, after a Djokovic double fault afforded him two break points, the second of which he converted with a swish of that backhand.
But Djokovic hauled himself back on serve to love, wriggled out of a spot of bother at 5-5, 15-30 with three aces and whizzed through the tie-break – only briefly pausing to applaud a stunning round-the-net Musetti winner – for a two-set lead.
A break at the start of the third, sealed with a backhand cross-court winner, extinguished any fire Musetti had left in him as Djokovic eased serenely into his 10th Wimbledon final.
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