Wimbledon Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in the final

(Wimbledon) “It was the expected final. These words are from Novak Djokovic, who will face Sunday, to try to clinch his 24^e Grand Slam title and his 8^e at Wimbledon, the world number 1, Carlos Alcaraz, who has adapted his game extraordinarily to the grass.

Friday in the semi-finals, Djokovic sent young Italian Jannik Sinner, 8, back to his studies.^e world at 21, 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6 (7/4), signing a 34^e straight win at Wimbledon where he is unbeaten since losing in the quarter-finals in 2017.

“The score does not reflect the reality of what was happening: it was very tight and the third set could have turned to his advantage,” commented Djokovic, who no longer lost on center court, where held the final on Sunday, for 10 years and his defeat in the final against Andy Murray in 2013.

“He has proven himself to be one of the leaders of the new generation and one of the very best players in the world. And I am happy to be part of this new generation! “, joked the 36-year-old Serb who loves to stand up to young people.

He became the third player over 36 to reach the final at Wimbledon after Ken Rosewall (39 in 1974, who he lost to Jimmy Connors) and Roger Federer (almost 38 in 2019 when he lost to to Djokovic).

Absolute record

Djokovic also qualified for his 35^e Grand Slam final, setting an all-time record ahead of American Chris Evert.

He had won the men’s record by reaching his 32^e final last year at Wimbledon (one more than Federer who still holds the record of 12 finals on English grass).

On Sunday, Djokovic will look for a fifth straight title to match the record streaks of Federer and Björn Borg.

Even at the Australian Open where he holds the record of 10 titles, he has never won so many in a row.

In 2022, Djokovic and Sinner had faced each other a round earlier and the Serb won in five sets after losing the first two. This time, three sets were enough for him to dismiss the Italian without ever being threatened.

Because, as often, Djokovic was intractable on key points: he notably saved the nine break points he had to defend, including two set points in a row for Sinner in the third set.

Massage table

And he was once again imperial on his face-offs: he signed 11 aces, did not commit any double faults and had a 30% rate of first-ball winners over the whole game.

“Now I’m going to rest and recover: I’m going to watch the other half of my massage table,” Djokovic announced.

This second half pitted two players against each other who finally succeeded this year in adapting to the grass their game which is so effective on other surfaces.

Neither the Spaniard Alcaraz nor the Russian Medvedev had so far passed the knockout stages at Wimbledon. But the showdown was cut short, as Alcaraz proved superior to win 6-3, 6-3 and 6-3.

The Spaniard did not hesitate to get into the net and he did well: he scored 28 points on the fly from 36 climbs.

Until 3-0 in the last set, the game was one-sided. But Medvedev managed to put madness into the match in a streak with four breaks in a row.

He still ended up giving up after a magnificent exchange concluded by a cross passing while advancing from Alcaraz.

“It was very difficult to finish the match, we had to stay very focused. Daniil fought until the end, he is an incredible fighter and player. I really had to give my best and be aggressive all the time, that was key,” explained the Spaniard.

At 20, he will try to win his second Grand Slam title, after the United States Open last year.

Facing Djokovic is, for Alcaraz, an “additional motivation”. “It will be very special to play a final against a legend,” admitted the 20-year-old Spaniard at a press conference.

“If I win, it will be amazing for me, not just to win Wimbledon, but to do it against Novak. It would be super special. »

While admitting that he has not yet thought of a strategy, the Spaniard will want at all costs to avoid the cramps which had prevented him from fully defending his chance in the last two rounds of the semi-final lost against the Serb at Roland-Garros.

“Playing a final at Wimbledon is something I dreamed of when I started playing tennis. It will be an emotional moment,” he explained.

“For Novak, it will only be one more moment in his career but, for me, it will be the best moment of mine,” he added.