In a few months, Carlos Alcaraz will celebrate his 21st birthday, but the Spanish tennis player has already reached great heights at the Grand Slam level. This Sunday, he will have the chance to add another major title to his collection, having reached the Wimbledon final.
The Spanish player will defend his title at the All England Club after defeating Daniil Medvedev in four sets in the semifinals with scores of 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“I feel like I'm not a newcomer anymore. I know how I will feel before the final. I've been in this position before,” Alcaraz said. “I will try to do the things I did well last year and try to be better.”
Like last year, his opponent in the final will be Novak Djokovic, who had an easier victory in three sets - 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-4 against 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the second semifinal.
Djokovic won 15/16 points at the net in the first set and finished with a total of 43 points out of 56 attempts.
This will be the first time two players meet in the Wimbledon final for two consecutive years since Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in 2014 and 2015.
Djokovic has not reached the final in any tournament since the start of the 2024 season and had to undergo surgery in June due to a torn meniscus in his right knee. But now, overcoming all obstacles, he aims for his eighth title at SW19.
If he wins, Nole will match Federer's record for the most titles among male players - and will be second only to Martina Navratilova's record of 9 titles. Additionally, the 37-year-old Serbian player will become the first player in tennis history to have a total of 25 Grand Slam titles in his career.
But Djokovic still has to overcome Alcaraz. “I know what I have to do,” Alcaraz said, “I'm sure he knows what he has to do to beat me.”
Second seed Djokovic advances to his 10th Wimbledon final and 37th major final.
“I don't want to stop here,” Djokovic said, “Hopefully I will touch that trophy on Sunday.”
For Alcaraz, a victory in the final will put him on par with Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg, having more than one title at Wimbledon before turning 22, and being the only male player in the Open Era, starting from 1968, to achieve that.
Alcaraz also won the US Open in 2022 and Roland Garros last month. His record in Grand Slam finals is currently 3-0.
The Wimbledon 2024 men's singles final between Alcaraz and Djokovic will take place at 8:00 PM on July 14.
