Carlos Alcaraz will be playing against Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final after beating Daniil Medvedev.
Right after it became clear that the two best players on the ATP Tour right now will be seeded first and second at this year's Wimbledon, their possible final meeting became the most-anticipated match of the tournament.
It wasn't just because the fight also included the World No. 1 spot, but also because their last meeting at the Roland Garros had a really anticlimactic end, on top of being 'only' a semifinal match at the second Grand Slam of the season.
This time around, it will be the final, with a direct fight for the trophy. In the first match on the Centre Court, Novak Djokovic cruised past Jannik Sinner in three sets, and the young Spaniard wanted to do the same thing against Medvedev to save his energy for the final.
But the Russian has been playing well in the All England Club this year, yet, the majority of his wins came on the No. 1 Court. And it was the 'aura' of the Centre Court that Alcaraz hoped would turn things in his favour.
Coincidentally, the two met two years ago at Wimbledon, and back then it was a comfortable three-set win for Medvedev. But that was before Alcaraz's breakthrough, and the odds were stacked against the Russian ahead of their second meeting on the grass in London.
Early on in the opening set, both players looked after their serve, and as the set approached its end, it seemed that it might need to be decided in a tie-break. But when Medvedev led 30-15 on his serve in the eighth game, the 20-year-old started a seven-point streak to break his serve and hold to love, winning the opening set 6-3.
The World No. 3 had a chance to start the second set with a break, after holding to love, but he couldn't use his one break point chance. On the other hand, Alcaraz created multiple chances throughout the second set.
The Spaniard had three break points in the third game, and three more in the ninth game, and after using his third chance on both occasions, he added two more breaks to win the second set 6-3 and head into the decider with a two-set lead.
After Alcaraz got an early break in the third set and led 3-0, it seemed that the final meeting with Djokovic was inevitable. Yet, Medvedev managed to fight back multiple times, but every time the Russian broke back, he couldn't hold his serve.
That proved to be crucial in the third set as Alcaraz managed to finally stop a long series of lost serves from both players and after an hour and 50 minutes, the top-seeded Spaniard won the match 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to reach his maiden Wimbledon final.
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