On Sunday at Wimbledon, tennis fans will be treated to a Final between the top-two seeds on the Gentleman’s side of the proceedings.
Carlos Alcaraz breezes past Daniil Medvedev to advance to his first Wimbledon Final
It will be Djokovic versus Alcaraz in the Final at Wimbledon
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
After No. 2 Novak Djokovic advanced to his fifth-straight Wimbledon Final with a win over Jannik Sinner, top seed Carlos Alcaraz kept up his end of the bargain, dispatching third-seeded Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
The performance from Alcaraz was a complete effort, from his service game to his serve-and-volley game. Medvedev insisted on staying deep when Alcaraz was serving, which played into Alcaraz’s touch and tempo — particularly with his slice backhand — in the serve-and-volley game.
That perhaps showed up most in Alcaraz’s net points. In the first set alone, the top seed converted 10-of-13 chances at the net or 83%. That continued in the second set, where he converted 11-of-13, or 85%. Alcaraz took advantage of Medvedev’s alignment, serving wide and keeping his opponent deep, then showing masterful touch on his volleys.
By the third set, Medvedev could only look to his box for advice.
He did figure some things out, as the third set was all about the breaks. In the fifth game, Medvedev broke serve to give himself a chance as the set went to 3-2 in favor of Alcaraz.
But Alcaraz broke right back, curling a shot past Medvedev early in the game and then smashing a forehand past him to get to love-30. Medvedev fought back to deuce, but Alcaraz finally broke with a mid-court overhead smash, finishing off the game to take a 4-2 lead in the third.
Medvedev would not go away, breaking right back to stay in the match at 4-3 in the third set. However, Alcaraz answered with a break of his own, pushing his advantage to 5-3 in the third with a chance to serve out the match for a spot in his first Wimbledon final.
Which he did.
With another win near the net, as viewed from the stands:
By advancing to the Final, Alcaraz becomes the youngest Wimbledon finalist since Rafael Nadal back in 2006. That year, Nadal lost to Roger Federer in a battle of the top-two seeds.
Alcaraz will be hoping for a much different result on Sunday.
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