The most successful men’s tennis player in the modern era, Novak Djokovic secured a straight 3-set victory against Lorenzo Musetti in the Wimbledon 2023 men’s singles semi-final on Friday. Djokovic had a strange start to the first set that saw him broken early, but the Serbian ace put on his best show, defeating the Italian in the first three sets to secure a convincing victory. Djokovic would now face Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Sunday. Alcaraz defeated Russian Daniil Medvedev in a 4-set clash.
Just five weeks after undergoing knee surgery, seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic reached his tenth final at the All England Club with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 victory over 25th placed Italian.
Djokovic, 37, could equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and become the tournament’s oldest champion in the modern era if he avenges last year’s dramatic five-set final defeat to Alcaraz.
The last time Djokovic and Musetti faced each other was at the French Open in June, when the Serb claimed victory in the third round, which ended at 3:07 am.
On Friday, however, Djokovic was undeterred on his way to his 37th Grand Slam final.
He broke for 4-2 in the opening and, despite giving up the lead and letting two set points slip in the ninth game, broke again in the 10th to take the set.
The second seed was playing his 49th Grand Slam semi-final, while 22-year-old Musetti was in his first.
That experience was crucial as Djokovic recovered from losing serve in the opening game of the second set to level in the sixth before dominating the tie-break.
A break in the opening game of the third set launched him on the path to victory against a demoralized Musetti, who at least had the consolation of saving three match points before Djokovic completed his passage to another Wimbledon final.
Previously, world number three Alcaraz defeated his fifth-ranked opponent 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and will face seven-time champion Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti for the title on Sunday . .
Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in the 2023 final in a five-set thriller.
“Obviously it will be a very difficult game. Let’s see who I face on Sunday,” said Alcaraz, who has 55 wins to Medvedev’s 31.
“I feel like I’m not a rookie anymore. I know how I’m going to feel before the final. I’ve been in this position before.”
He added: “I started very nervous today. Daniil was dominating the match, playing great tennis. It was difficult for me.”
Twice Medvedev, defeated by the Spaniard at the same stage last year, led with breaks in the first set, only to be defeated.
His frustration was such that he received an unsportsmanlike conduct warning from referee Eva Asderaki for an apparent foul-mouthed reaction to a ball called for bouncing twice when he was broken in the ninth game.
The referee and tournament supervisor were even summoned to the center court by Asderaki, but Medvedev ignored the incident to overcome the tie-break and win the opening set, in which he made just eight unforced errors to the Spaniard’s 15.
It was the third time at Wimbledon this year that Alcaraz lost the first set.
Alcaraz recovered impressively, breaking Medvedev for a 3-1 lead in the second, having emerged victorious in the previous game following a 27-shot rally.
The 21-year-old hit 14 winners in the third set, pocketing the only chance in the third game.
Medvedev, who knocked out world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, recovered early in the fourth set.
But Alcaraz continued its attack, again going ahead 4-3 en route to victory.
With AFP inputs
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