Wimbledon final locked in with Carlos Alcaraz and legend Novak Djokovic to face off again

Champion Carlos Alcaraz and seven-time winner Novak Djokovic are to duel again in a mouth-watering Wimbledon final rematch after consummate Centre Court triumphs.

Alcaraz overcame another sluggish start to blast past an outclassed Daniil Medvedev in the opening semi-final, losing the first set for the third time in the Championships on Friday, only to move up several gears to race to victory 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-4 6-4.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Alcaraz and Djokovic set up blockbuster final.

Then Djokovic took centre stage to earn a crack at avenging last year’s five-set loss in a classic final as he defeated Lorenzo Musetti in immaculate fashion 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.

Once again, Djokovic celebrated by playing an imaginary violin with his racquet.

It was supposed to be for his daughter in the stands, who’s learning to play the instrument, but more boos from the crowd suggested some fans felt it was aimed at their support of Musetti.

The Serbian legend then made it clear he’s in the mood to win the record-breaking 25th grand slam that will take him past the mark he currently shares with Australian Margaret Court.

“I’m satisfied and pleased, but I don’t want to stop here. Hopefully I get my hands on the trophy,” said the 37-year-old, betraying any signs of the surgery he had on a torn meniscus five weeks ago.

During the match Djokovic one again amazed the tennis world with his incredible athleticism.

In fact, the third point of the match had fans all saying the same thing after he won a 27-shot rally, by scrambling from deep behind the baseline to the other side of the court, to hit a backhand cross-court winner.

When the Wimbledon social media account put up vision of the rally, fans immediately reacted with one word: “GOAT.”

It was again repeated when the account put up an astonishing fact.

Djokovic is 37 years old and has made 37 grand slam finals.

“Lucky number 37,” one fan responded.

And another said: “Age is just a number.”

“Poetic,” another said, and another wanted to amend the ‘old’ part: “Correction 37 Years Young.”

Victories for Djokovic and Alcaraz mean the same pair will meet in consecutive Wimbledon finals for the first time since Djokovic beat Roger Federer in both 2014 and 2015.

Alcaraz’s victory, rather harder earned than his straight-sets victory at the same stage last year against the Russian, set up a huge day of sport on Sunday when he will aim to beat Djokovic again just hours before Spain take on England in the Euro 2024 soccer final.

“It’s going to be really good day for Spanish people as well, with the Euros,” said Alcaraz, whose mention of the big match inevitably drew an animated reaction with plenty of boos mixed with laughter from the Centre Court crowd.

It prompted Alcaraz to add quickly to get them back onside: “I didn’t say Spain is going to win, I just said it’s going to be a really fun day!”

Alcaraz hasn’t been consistently at his best through the whole tournament, and it was the same again against the No.5 seed as he mixed a selection of the most dazzling shots with careless mistakes.

But, just as in the rest of the tournament after losing first sets against Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul, Alcaraz raised his game to end up dominating with a total of 55 winners to offset his 37 unforced errors in an absorbing contest that lasted just five minutes under three hours.

Medvedev, though, may have been lucky to escape being defaulted in the first set when he was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct from umpire Eva Asderaki, for his abuse towards her after she ruled Medvedev had not got to an Alcaraz drop shot before it bounced twice.

Replays showed she had made the right call.

After Alcaraz moved comfortably to within one match of pulling off the rare cross-Channel French Open-Wimbledon double in the same year and a fourth grand slam crown, Djokovic, just five weeks since surgery to repair a torn meniscus, moved imperiously into his 37th grand slam final.

“I came to London eight days before the tournament started. I didn’t know if I would play. I was keeping everything open until the day of the draw,” Djokovic revealed.

But Musetti had a warning for Alcaraz about the incredible Serb’s form. “This was the seventh time that we were playing against each other and I’ve never faced a Nole like this,” said the Italian.

“I was really impressed ... I have to say today was really a joke at the end how (well) he was returning.”

- With Cameron Noakes