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London, UK | Xinhua | A mouth-watering men’s showdown that everyone has been hoping for was set up at Wimbledon after both the top two seeds posted straight-set wins in Friday’s semifinals.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz showed his clinical skills to end third-seeded Daniil Medvedev’s run 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 while world No. 2 Novak Djokovic defeated No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4).
Alcaraz, 20, is through to his first Wimbledon final, and second at a Grand Slam, having been crowned US Open champion last year. However, Djokovic, 36, will play his 35th Grand Slam final, a record in all-time history and seek his eighth title at the grass-court major and 24th overall.
“It’s time to keep dreaming,” said top seed Alcaraz, as he became just the third Spanish man in history to make the Wimbledon final.
He is on an 11-match winning streak, that includes a title run on grass at Queen’s and his march to the final at SW19, and will be bidding for his sixth trophy of the season when he takes on Djokovic on Sunday.
“This is a dream for me, playing semifinal here, being able to play a final here in Wimbledon, honestly, I can’t believe it. I’m going to enjoy this amazing moment for me and it’s time to keep dreaming,” said the Spaniard after beating Medvedev for a second time in three meetings.
Alcaraz faced just one break point through the first two sets, without dropping serve, but the third set alone witnessed a combined five breaks of serve.
“It’s really, really difficult to close the match, it’s never easy. You have to be really, really focused. Daniil obviously didn’t want to lose, he fought until the last ball,” said Alcaraz, who wrapped up the win in under two hours.
“He’s an amazing fighter, runner, player. I had to show my best in that tough moment, I had to play aggressive and be myself all the time. I think that was the key to close that match.”
Alcaraz will square off with Djokovic for a second consecutive Grand Slam and the first time since he suffered severe cramps due to nerves in a Roland-Garros semifinal defeat to the Serb only one month ago.
“What can I say? Everybody knows the legend he is,” Alcaraz said of Djokovic. “It’s going to be really, really difficult. But I will fight, that’s myself. I will believe in myself; I will believe that I can beat him here. I saw that he is unbeatable since 2013 I think on this court so it’s going to be a really tough challenge for me, but I’m grateful for this.”
Medvedev was playing his first Wimbledon semi-final and paid tribute to Alcaraz, comparing him to tennis’ fabled ‘Big Three’ of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
“He’s a very strong player,” said the 2021 US Open champion. “I would say in general to compare like the ‘Big Three’, they’re amazing, they win so many Grand Slams, they win so many matches. He’s kind of like them. He’s still 20. Already has one Grand Slam. Playing great. Been No.1 for many, many weeks.”
Seven-time Wimbledon winner and four-time defending champion Djokovic will play his ninth final here, but he is still eyeing for more.
Sunday 16 July. Centre Court. No.1 vs No.2.#Wimbledon | @carlosalcaraz | @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/DWTjbrwr1u
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2023
“Ambition is always the highest for me: always to win the title. It’s not changing regardless of the place in history books,” assured the 36-year-old Djokovic. “Maybe some people think that it would be a huge relief for me winning Roland Garros, being the only men’s tennis player with 23 Slams. It’s not.”
Sinner saved seven out of nine break points, dropping serve once in each of the first two sets, but couldn’t convert any of the six break point opportunities he created throughout the match.
The 21-year-old hit 44 winners against 35 unforced errors, but it wasn’t enough to halt Djokovic’s march to history.
“He played a very good match. I obviously tried my best. I felt like I had some chances. I couldn’t use them. It was tough,” said Sinner, who was contesting the first major semifinal of his career.
In the women’s doubles, Barbora Strycova advanced to the final alongside Hsieh Su-wei thanks to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzkova.
Strycova and Hsieh, who won the doubles crown together at the All England Club four years ago, will face Rome champions and No. 3 seeds Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens, who overcame Caroline Dolehide and Zhang Shuai 6-1, 6-1 to reach the final.
