By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Carlos Alcaraz [3] v Daniil Medvedev [5]
- Novak Djokovic [2] v Lorenzo Musetti [25]
LONDON, ENGLAND – Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev will meet in a semi-final rematch as Novak Djokovic bids for a tenth Wimbledon final.
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Carlos Alcaraz [3] v Daniil Medvedev [5] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 4-2
It’s been far from easy but Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence is alive heading into the semi-finals after difficult wins over Frances Tiafoe, Ugo Humbert and Tommy Paul. Now the Spaniard remains the man to beat as he aims for a second consecutive Grand Slam title after his win at Roland Garros. Next up for Alcaraz is a semi-final rematch from last year against Daniil Medvedev after Medvedev knocked out world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Carlos Alcaraz [3] v Daniil Medvedev [5] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 4-2 |
| Wimbledon 2024 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £715,000 |
| First on Centre Court (13:30 BST) | BBC Sport |
Alcaraz’s title defence has been far from convincing but the Spaniard has produced his best level when it matters most in order to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
A second consecutive Grand Slam title is awaiting Alcaraz as he aims to continue his progression and prove why he is the player to beat right now.
Now a rematch from last year’s semi-finals awaits as he takes on Medvedev after the former US Open champion knocked out world number one Sinner in an impressive performance.
The former world number one has produced some stunning tennis to go under the radar and reach a second consecutive Wimbledon semi-final as he now looks to reach a seventh Grand Slam final.
Ahead of the semi-finals, Alcaraz spoke about his meeting his Medvedev and is glad his opponents find it difficult to anticipate what shot he is going to hit.
“Well, I’m glad that my opponents think that. That means they have to be really focus on every shots,” Alcaraz said in his press conference.
“It doesn’t matter on the attack position or on the defending position, just that they are thinking that I’m able to be back on the point or be able to hit an unbelievable shot, to hit the winner. For me it’s great that they thinking about it.
“And I’m going to say the most difficult thing about facing Daniil, or the most special thing about him, is he can reach every ball. Well, he is like a wall. Every ball bounce back. I feel like I can hit an unbelievable shot, the ball is going to bounce back. Is difficult to play thinking about that. So I going to say that’s the most special thing about Daniil.”
Meanwhile Medvedev spoke about the reasons why he is winning more five set matches more recently.
“For me, I always said a lot of things in my life come with experience,” Medvedev stated.
“Every time I do something for the first time, I’m super nervous. I can do it, but I’m super nervous. Like I don’t know what to wait from it. So it’s the same with Grand Slams. I think first, like, four or five Grand Slams, I was almost every time losing first round, except here against Wawrinka.
“Masters 1000, I took a long time to win my first round in Masters 1000. It’s the same about many things in my life. I think it was the same every time I played five sets. I would already work hard physically with my team, so I was ready. A lot of times I would have the break, I lose it. Now I’m okay with five sets. I know what I have to do, how to play them.
“In a way, I don’t think I’m better in five sets than four, but I try to win them. I’m happy that I managed to win a lot of them.”
Alcaraz will aim to come into the net to finish points off quickly as the forehand will be the key to winning the match with the Spaniard creating different speeds and spins with the shot.
As for Medvedev he will use depth to pin Alcaraz back as the fifth seed’s best chance of the match will be by being aggressive on return.
Medvedev will need to make huge tactical adjustments from last year if he wants to win this match.
There is always a chance for the fifth seed to cause the upset given Alcaraz’s performances at this year’s tournament.
Prediction: Alcaraz in four sets.
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Novak Djokovic [2] v Lorenzo Musetti [25] | H2H: Djokovic leads 5-1
Novak Djokovic has overcome doubts over his knee in order to reach a record-equalling 13th Wimbledon semi-final. Now the Serb will aim for a tenth Wimbledon final as he continues to prove why he is the greatest player of all time as he is a lot of motivation over the next few weeks with the Olympics coming up. Next for Djokovic is Lorenzo Musetti as the Italian defeated Taylor Fritz in five sets to reach a first Grand Slam semi-final.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Novak Djokovic [2] v Lorenzo Musetti [25] | H2H: Djokovic leads 5-1 |
| Wimbledon 2024 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £715,000 |
| Second on Centre Court (16:00 BST) | BBC Sport |
After overcoming injury doubts and poor form, Djokovic is into the Wimbledon semi-finals having played some tight matches this week.
Now Djokovic looks to reach a tenth Wimbledon final as his bid for Grand Slam 25 continues at SW19.
Next up for the Serb is Musetti as the Italian is into his first Grand Slam semi-final having overcome some long matches throughout the tournament.
Musetti aims to fulfil his potential as he looks for more success on his favourite surface having successfully backed up his run to the final at Queen’s Club with his best ever Grand Slam result.
After his fourth round victory, Djokovic spoke about how relaxed he is feeling heading into the latter stages of the tournament.
“I mean, I do enjoy my time with my family, with my kids, for example. I had some really nice time with my daughter yesterday on-site,” Djokovic said about his time on his off days.
“I try to mix things up, try to in those off days when I don’t have matches, yes, practice, but also get my mind off tennis a little bit and enjoy the quality time with the close ones. But the tension and the pressure and the stress is really high, as high as it always has been.
“I feel good about my tennis. There’s always something to improve, something to work on, but it’s all been going in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, Musetti said that it hasn’t sunk in what he’s achieved yet and also talked about his maturity.
“I mean, probably didn’t realize yet everything. Really surrounded by really good emotions,” Musetti revealed.
“Really, really happy of what I’ve achieved today. Really happy on the way I fought until the end. I founded a way to develop my game set after set. It was really a big reaction from me on the fifth, what I probably played my best tennis on this week.
“I mean, I’ve had many, many tough losses. Especially of course the best results before this week were made in French Open. Especially also with Nole two times in the fifth. One time with Stefanos in the fifth. Huge loss against Carlos where I didn’t even play my tennis.
“I think I made, of course, a step forward in the maturity and experience. Probably that losses with all big champions made me think, made me work harder. The win of today is probably the result. I think I can have a chance with Nole the next round.”
The key to the match for Djokovic will be his serve and controlling the pace of the rallies with the forehand.
Musettil will use the backhand to find angles on return as he will use a combination of slice and power to find space on the court.
Their previous meetings have seen Djokovic overcome a slow start before cruising to the fifth set.
Although this is Musetti’s best surface, this is also Djokovic’s so a similar result should be produced here should the Serb be at his 100% best.
Prediction: Djokovic in five sets.
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