LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 12: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates as he plays against Lorenzo Musetti … [+]
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With one more win, Novak Djokovic can change the No. 24 on his sneakers to a 25.
To get there and surpass Margaret Court with a record 25th major title and a record-tying eighth Wimbledon crown, Djokovic will have to earn revenge against Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s Wimbledon final.
One year after Alcaraz defeated the Serb in an epic five-set final that spoiled Djokovic’s chance for a calendar Grand Slam, the two rivals will meet again for the championship. Alcaraz, 21, holds a 3-2 lead on the 37-year-old Djokovic.
No. 2 Djokovic followed No. 3 Alcaraz into the final with a surgical 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-4 dismantling of No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti, who was appearing in his first Grand Slam semifinal. Djokovic is into his 37th Grand Slam final and 10th Wimbledon final — Roger Federer leads with 12 — — despite having meniscus surgery a little more than a month ago that forced him to withdraw from his Roland Garros quarterfinal.
Three-time major champ Alcaraz took out No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in four sets in the first semifinal to earn his 13th straight Wimbledon win and his 13th consecutive major win.
“I’m obviously very, very satisfied, very pleased and happy to be in another finals, but I don’t want to stop here,” Djokovic said on court. “Hopefully, I’ll get my hands on that trophy on Sunday.”
Asked if he had doubts following his knee surgery, he said:
“There was plenty of doubts. Coming into London 8 days before the tournament started. I didn’t know if I’d be part of the tournament or not. I was keeping everything open til the day of the draw. I played a few practice sets with top players and exhibition matches which proved to me I’m in a good enough state to go deep. I said before the tournament if I felt like I didn’t have a chance to go deep in the tournament I probably wouldn’t be playing. That kind of mentality is ever present. I’m just very pleased and thankful to all the team members for helping me arrive to where I am.”
One report says the “get-in” price for the men’s final will be over $10,000.
Djokovic has now reached 10 finals at three different majors: Australian Open (10-of-10), Wimbledon (7-of-9) and the U.S. Open (4-of-10).
The Serb should be well rested for the final since he got a walkover into the semifinals due to Alex De Minaur’s hip injury and then took out Musetti in straight sets.
Against Musetti, Djokovic took the first set thanks to an early break and plenty of experience in major semifinals.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 12: Lorenzo Musetti of Italy plays a backhand against Novak Djokovic of … [+]
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After falling behind 1-3 in the second set, Djokovic rattled off 12 of the next 16 points to go ahead 4-3.
Musetti saved a set point with some gutsy baseline play to force a tiebreak, but Djokovic raced out to a 4-1 lead in the breaker. He closed the breaker out with a forehand approach and then an overhead smash into the open court.
Djokovic again earned an early break in the third for a 2-1 lead.
Musetti overcame a 3-5, 0-40 deficit in the third set to hold serve and get it to 4-5.
Djokovic closed it out on his fourth match point when Musetti sent a backhand long.
Looking ahead to facing Alcaraz, Djokovic said:
“Carlos Alcaraz is going to win many more Grand Slams … maybe when I retire, in about 15 years. I’m joking!”
He added: “He’s deservedly one of the greatest 21-year-olds we’ve ever seen in this sport….He already beat me here in Wimbledon finals last year in a thrilling five-setter. I don’t expect anything less than that, a huge battle on the court. He’s as a complete a player as they come. It’s going to take the best of my abilities to beat him on Sunday.”
