Djokovic to face Alcaraz in Wimbledon final after beating Musetti

LONDON (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz is only a couple of months past his 21th birthday, and yet this whole Grand Slam success thing is already a bit been-there, done-that for him.

Moving a step closer to a second consecutive Wimbledon trophy and fourth major championship overall, Alcaraz overcame a shaky start Friday to beat Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals at Centre Court.

“I feel like I’m not new anymore. I feel like I know how I’m going to feel before the final. I’ve been in this position before,” Alcaraz said. “I will try to do the things that I did well last year and try to be better.”

Like last year, his opponent in the title match will be Novak Djokovic, who advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory against No. 25 seed Lorenzo Musetti in the second semifinal. Djokovic won 15 of 16 points when he went to the net in the first set and finished 43 for 56 in that category.

It'll be the first time the same two men meet in consecutive Wimbledon finals since Djokovic beat Roger Federer in 2014 and 2015.

Djokovic, who hadn't reached a final at any tournament all season and needed surgery in June for a torn meniscus in his right knee, will be vying for his eighth championship at the All England Club. That would tie Federer’s mark for the most by a man — and put him one behind Martina Navratilova’s record of nine — while making the 37-year-old from Serbia the first player in tennis history with a career total of 25 Grand Slam titles.

“I know what I have to do,” Alcaraz said. “I’m sure he knows what he has to do to beat me.”

Late in Djokovic’s semifinal, as he let his first three match points slip away, fans hoping for a longer match began changing “Lo-ren-zo!” One yelled out during a point, bothering Djokovic, who soon was wiping away fake tears mockingly after Musetti failed to convert a break chance in the last game.

The No. 2-seeded Djokovic eventually worked his way into his 10th final at Wimbledon and 37th at a major.

“I don't want to stop here," Djokovic said. "Hopefully I'll get my hands on that trophy on Sunday.”

After a so-so opening set against Medvedev, Alcaraz transformed back into the energetic, attacking, crowd-pleasing force who already was the first teenager to be No. 1 in the ATP rankings and is the youngest man to have won a major trophy on three surfaces: grass, clay and hard courts.

Now the Spaniard is one victory away from joining Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg as the only men in the Open era, which began in 1968, with multiple championships at the All England Club before turning 22.

Alcaraz also triumphed at the U.S. Open in 2022 and the French Open last month and is 3-0 in major finals.

A year ago at Wimbledon, Alcaraz eliminated 2021 U.S. Open champion Medvedev in straight sets in the semifinals — “He crushed me,” Medvedev recalled — before defeating Djokovic in five sets.

On a cloudy afternoon — the main stadium’s retractable roof open because there was none of the rain that fell throughout the first 1 1/2 weeks of the tournament — the No. 3-seeded Alcaraz went through some ups and downs against No. 5 Medvedev, a 28-year-old from Russia.

“ I started really, really nervous,” Alcaraz said. “He was dominating the match, playing a great, great tennis. … It was difficult for me.”

Indeed, Medvedev grabbed an early 5-2 lead, but then got into trouble with his play and his temper.

Alcaraz broke to get within 5-4 with a drop shot that chair umpire Eva Asderaki ruled — correctly, according to TV replays — bounced twice before Medvedev got his racket on the ball. He voiced his displeasure, and Asderaki, after climbing down from her seat to huddle with tournament referee Denise Parnell during the ensuing changeover, issued a warning to Medvedev for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I said something in Russian. Not unpleasant, but not over the line,” Medvedev said at his news conference.

He regrouped quickly and was just about perfect in that set’s tiebreaker.

Then it was Alcaraz’s turn to get headed in the right direction, which didn’t take long. He got the last break he would need for a 4-3 edge in the fourth when Medvedev sailed a backhand long, then sat in his sideline chair, locked eyes with his two coaches and started muttering and gesticulating.

“I was playing well,” Medvedev said, “and just it was not enough.”

Nearly every time Alcaraz emitted one of his “Uh-eh!” two-syllable grunts while unleashing a booming forehand, spectators audibly gasped, regardless of whether the point continued. Often enough, it didn’t: Of the match’s 28 forehand winners, 24 were produced by Alcaraz’s racket.

As dangerous Alcaraz can be at his aggressive best, his defense is something to marvel at, too.

At times, it feels as though an exchange is never over until he decides it is. And if it appears that way from the comfort of the stands, just imagine how frustrating that must be for foes. On one point, Alcaraz left a skid mark several feet long in the grass when he sprinted, then slid, to reach an apparently unreachable ball. He sent up a lob that drew an errant Medvedev overhead.

In addition to the Wimbledon men’s final, Sunday’s sports schedule features the final of the men’s soccer European Championship in Germany, where Spain will meet England.

When Alcaraz alluded to that in his on-court interview by saying, “It’s going to be a really good day for the Spanish people, as well,” he drew boos from the locals. Alcaraz smiled and added: “I didn’t say Spain is going to win. I just said that it’s going to be a really fun, fun day.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis