Alcaraz defeats Medvedev to reach second consecutive Wimbledon final

Alcaraz manages Medvedev 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours

On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz will attempt to defend his crown at the All England Club. The twenty-one-year-old reigning French Open champion finds himself in rarefied air; halfway to the elusive Roland Garros-Wimbledon double.

There are just five men in this elite club: Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic.

While Alcaraz was far from his best heading into the penultimate round, his opponent was on a tear. In the quarters, Daniil Medvedev took out the world #1 and reigning Australian Open champion, Jannik Sinner.

The twenty-eight-year-old Russian had led the Italian two sets to love in the Aussie Open final only to lose in five. The former world #1 exacted his revenge on the lawns of London to reach his second consecutive Wimbledon semifinal.

While Alcaraz led the head-to-head 4-2, Medvedev dispatched him in four in the semis at the 2023 US Open. The Spaniard won the toss and elected to receive.

 Photo: Getty

With the centre court roof open, Medvedev struggled with a double fault, four deuce, and a break point before holding. Alcaraz made 2/4 first serves and held at love to level.  

The Russian with his solid defense and off-putting offense, dictated play with depth and variety. Although he opened the third with his second double fault, he held to 15 with an ace up the tee.

Alcaraz missed three consecutive first serves, faced a triple break point, and dumped serve following a barrage of crosscourt forehands from his opponent. Medvedev gifted five unforced errors including another double fault and gave back the break.

Alcaraz missed 3/5 first serves, faced a double break point, and gave back the break when Medvedev struck an overhead smash. The 2021 US Open champion opened the seventh with a blistering backhand down the line and held to 15 for 5-2. Alcaraz serving to stay in the set with new balls, hit three consecutive winners including his first ace, and held at love.

Medvedev struck his third ace but faced a triple break point and dropped serve when he missed wide with a forehand volley. During the changeover, the supervisor came on court to discuss an audible profanity Medvedev directed at the chair following what he deemed an incorrect call. The Russian was exceedingly close to being defaulted but instead received an un-sportsmanlike code of conduct violation.

Alcaraz once again served to stay in the set. He opened with a netted backhand but with a backhand volley winner, held to 30 for 5-5 while Medvedev hit two consecutive volley winners and held at love for 6-5.

Alcaraz missed 3/6 first serves and committed two forehand errors but with an overhead smash and missed return, forced the breaker. Medvedev hit four spectacular winners, raced to a 6-1 lead, and secured the tiebreak on the following point when Alcaraz netted the return.

The Spaniard served first in the second, opened with an ace, and held to 15 for 1-0. Medvedev the world #5, opened with two additional aces and held to love to level. Alcaraz opened the third with a netted backhand but secured the game by winning an extraordinary 27-shot rally with an inside-out forehand.

Medvedev serving with new balls faced a double break point and dumped serve while Alcaraz hit two winners to consolidate the break for 4-1. Medvedev missed 3/5 first serves but held to 15 when he crushed a backhand crosscourt.

Alcaraz hit two consecutive winners including an ace out wide and held to 15 for 5-2 while Medvedev struck two consecutive winners and held at love for 3-5. The reigning Wimbledon champion missed 5/8 first serves including two double faults but with a monster serve out wide, secured the set 6-3.

Medvedev served first in the third and held to 30 while Alcaraz struck two forehand winners and held at love. The Russian gifted four forehand errors and dropped serve while Alcaraz serving with new balls, hit two forehand winners and consolidated the break at love.

Medvedev made 4/6 first serves and held to 30 for 2-3 while Alcaraz hit three consecutive winners including his fourth ace for 4-2. Medvedev opened the seventh with a fantastic forehand drop volley winner but after two successive double faults, faced break point. He battled and held for 3-4 with three consecutive first serves and two additional forehand winners.

Alcaraz opened the eighth with a netted backhand but with an overhead smash and winning drop shot, held for 5-3. Medvedev stayed in the set with a forehand volley and backhand down the line winner but Alcaraz clinched the set 6-4 with three well-struck first serves including one out wide at 132mph.        

Medvedev served first in the fourth and though he held game point, faced two deuce, two break points, and dropped serve when Alcaraz crushed a crosscourt forehand. The Spaniard, however, opened with two consecutive forehand errors and with a third, gave back the break.      

The Russian serving with new balls made 2/4 first serves and held at love to consolidate the break. Alcaraz opened the fourth with his fifth ace and with his sixth, held at love for 2-2.

Medvedev opened the fifth with a successful serve and volley play and closed with a forehand crosscourt volley winner. Alcaraz missed 4/5 first serves but with two forehand winners, held to 15 for 3-3.

Medvedev opened the seventh with a leaping crosscourt backhand volley winner but with his sixth double fault, faced double break point and dumped serve with a mishit backhand.

Alcaraz struck two consecutive winners to consolidate the break for 5-3 while Medvedev serving to stay in the match, faced 0-30 yet held with two terrific winners including a deft backhand drop shot.

The three-time grand slam champion made 5/6 first serves and earned his place in the championship match when his opponent’s pass went wide.

The twenty-one-year-old continues to make history; youngest world number one, youngest grand slam winner on three surfaces, and the opportunity to defend his Wimbledon title.

He finished with six aces, and two double faults and won 73% of first and 61% of second serve points despite a first serve percentage of fifty-seven. He struck fifty-five winners and forty unforced errors while converting 6/15 break points. Most impressively, he limited the unforced errors and served more effectively as the match progressed.

He will need to further up the ante on championship Sunday when he will face seven-time Wimbledon champion, Novak Djokovic in a repeat of last year’s five-set thriller. Djokovic at thirty-seven is currently ranked and seeded two and leads the head-to-head 3-2. This will be their second tour-level meeting on grass and one not to be missed.