Hot prospect Carlos Alcaraz has battled his way into another Wimbledon final for the second year running and is well on his way to joining the list of all-time greats. The young Spaniard has come under hot praise from his semi-final opponent, Daniil Medvedev, as he prepares to face his opponent from last year’s final, Novak Djokovic.
After beating Medvedev in four sets in the semi-final, the 21-year-old is in line to win his fourth Grand Slam if he can re-produce the heroic performance which he gave fans last year. Since his victory last year at SW19, Alcaraz has continued to impress and has even added another Grand slam to his CV in the form of the French Open. This feat meant that, at 21 years of age, he is the youngest player to win a major on three different surfaces.
Now, as he prepares to face Djokovic on the 14th of July, the media caught up with his semi-final opponent to ask where he thinks the current world number three ranks among some of the greatest of all time. With a record of five losses and two wins over the Wimbledon champion, he’s in no better position to comment, and he was highly complimentary of the Spaniard.
“Probably in my career he’s the toughest opponent I have faced… but I have time, I have time to try to do better. I played the big three when they were, let’s say, older. Over 30. It was a bit different.”
Later adding: “Roger plays on the line, hits beautiful technique shots, goes to the net. Novak also plays on the line, but completely different. Amazing defence, like a pinball player where the ball comes back faster to you. Rafa, completely different again. He can stay 10 metres behind, but he is going to run to every ball and hit banana shots. I think where Carlos is different from many players, we all have preferences, some prefer defence, some prefer to be super aggressive. He can do all of it.”
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The route to the 2024 Wimbledon final |
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Round |
Carlos Alcaraz |
Novak Djokovic |
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Round 1 |
M. Lajal |
V. Kopriva |
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Round 2 |
A. Vukic |
J. Fearnley |
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Round 3 |
F. Tiafoe |
A. Popyrin |
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Last 16 |
U. Humbert |
H. Rune |
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Quarter-final |
T. Paul |
Walkover |
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Semi-final |
D. Medvedev |
L. Musetti |
Medvedev’s record against the top stars is poor, which leaves him in no better position to comment on how good they are. Admittedly, they may have been all past their peak when facing the Russian, however, the records don’t lie, and they all still outclassed him. The all-time great Roger Federer maintained a perfect record against Medvedev before he retired, beating him three times, including a win at the Miami Open in 2019.
Medvedev faced Rafael Nadal back in the 2022 Australian Open final and succumbed to defeat against the former number one. His record is poor against the Spaniard, having only beat him once and suffering five losses along the way. Although, his record against Sunday’s Grand Slam finalist Djokovic is much more respectable, with five wins to 10 losses.
Now, as he prepares for Sunday afternoon’s final, Alcaraz will relish the praise from one of his rivals. However, there is no time to dwell on this if he is to add another Grand Slam to his record. The Serbian beat Italian Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets to reach the final where he will be looking to overcome last year’s five-set defeat.
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A tough battle for both on Sunday with both going into the final in fine form. Alcaraz, seemingly the fans’ favourite, will be cheered on by SW19 to beat the Serbian again, especially after Djokovic’s actions midweek.
