Wimbledon 2024: For defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, his semi-final match was almost a repeat of 2023, only this time, Medvedev didn’t make it too easy
Last Updated: 10.40 PM, Jul 12, 2024
At the start of the first semi-final in the men’s singles event at Wimbledon, it seemed that there’d be quite a match at hand. Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, who’d met on the same court only a year ago, with the latter being dispatched in straight sets, were back to see who’d head into the final on July 14. Medvedev took the first set, and there were signs that he was not going to allow a repeat of their previous encounter.
That did not last long, though, as Alcaraz pulled himself together and won the next three sets comfortably, setting up his second consecutive Wimbledon final. The final score 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-4. Speaking after the match, Alcaraz conceded that Medvedev dominated initially, playing great serves and returns.
But then the Wimbledon champion snuck in a comment about Sunday being a good day for Spain, which did not go down well with the crowd. Spain is playing England in the Euro Cup final on July 14.
The question, now, of course, is whether he will have a repeat of the 2023 final and face 7-time champion Novak Djokovic or if Lorenzo Musetti, whose previous best at the tournament was a 3rd round outing in 2023, will be the title challenger.
Although Alcaraz trumped Djokovic at the 2023 Wimbledon finale, their subsequent two encounters went the latter’s way. In fact, Djokovic still leads in their head-to-head record at 3:2. As for Musetti, he’s played Alcaraz four times earlier, with the latter winning three, including a Round of 16 encounter at Roland Garros in 2023.
The men’s singles final is scheduled to be played on Centre Court on July 14. The women’s singles, meanwhile, will see first-time finalist and French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini take on 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the final on July 13. The matches can be streamed live on Disney+ Hotstar in India.