Novak Djokovic To Play For Record 25th Major Title In Wimbledon Rematch Against Carlos Alcaraz
Novak Djokovic To Play For Record 25th Major Title In Wimbledon Rematch Against Carlos Alcaraz
By Adam Zagoria
Jul 12, 2024 04:06 PM
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If he wins one more time, Novak Djokovic can change the number. 24 on his shoes to the number 25.
To reach that goal and beat Margaret Court with a record 25th major title as well as an unbeatable eighth Wimbledon title, Djokovic will have to take revenge against Carlos Alcaraz in the Sunday’s Wimbledon final.
The year that Alcaraz defeated Djokovic Serb in a thrilling five-set final that ended Djokovic’s hopes to play in an opportunity to win a Calendar Grand Slam, the two adversaries will play again to decide the title. Alcaraz 21-year-old has a lead of 3-2 over Djokovic, 37. Djokovic.
No. 2 Djokovic followed No. 3 Alcaraz into the final with a an impressive 7-6(2), 6-4 7-6(2) and a 6-4 thrashing of No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti, who was playing for the first time in a Grand Slam semifinal. Djokovic is in final 37 for the first time in his career. Grand Slam final and 10th Wimbledon final. Roger Federer leads with 12 — – despite having a meniscus operation less than one month earlier which caused him to miss playing in his Roland Garros quarterfinal.
Three-time major champ Alcaraz took out No. Five Daniil Medvedev, in just four games in the opening semifinal, securing his 13th consecutive Wimbledon victory as well as his 13th consecutive major victory.
“I’m obviously very, very satisfied, very pleased and happy to be in another finals, but I don’t want to stop here,” Djokovic declared on the court. “Hopefully, I’ll get my hands on that trophy on Sunday.”
When asked if he had any doubts after his knee surgery, he replied:
“There was a lot of doubts. When I arrived in London 8 days prior to when the tournament began. I wasn’t sure if I would participate in the tournament or not. I was putting everything on the table until when the drawing day came around. I took part in some practice sets with top players as well as exhibition matches, which showed me that I’m in an enough condition to be able to play deep. I told myself prior to the tournament that If I felt that I didn’t have the opportunity to make it a deep tournament, I’d probably not be playing. This type of mentality is always present. I’m extremely happy and grateful to all team members who helped me get where I am now.”
One report suggests that there is a “get-in” price for the men’s final is more than $10,000.
Djokovic has reached the finals of 10 times at three majors: Australian Open (10-of-10), Wimbledon (7-of-9) and the U.S. Open (4-of-10).
The Serb is likely to be rested to play in the final, as his opponent walked him to semi-finalsdue to the hip injury of Alex De Minaur and later swept the match against Musetti by straight set.
In the match against Musetti, Djokovic took the first set due to an early break and a lot of experience playing in important semifinals.
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After falling behind by 1-3 during the 2nd set Djokovic scored 12 of the 16 points he needed to lead 4-3.
Musetti saved one set point through brave baseline play to force an end-of-set tiebreak, but Djokovic took an 8-1 advantage in the break. He smashed the break out by utilizing a forehand and then a high-speed smash across the court.
Djokovic was rewarded with an opening break early in the 3rd period to give the lead of 2-1.
Musetti defeated a 3-5 deficit in the third set to keep serve and make it 4-5.
Djokovic won the match with the fourth point of his match after Musetti played an backhand long.
As he prepares to take on Alcaraz, Djokovic said:
“Carlos Alcaraz will be a winner of many Grand Slams … perhaps when I retire in around 15 years. I’m joking!”
He said: “He’s deservedly one of the best 21-year-old players we’ve witnessed in the sport. ….He has already beaten me in the Wimbledon Finals in the year 2000, in a thrilling five-setter. I’m not expecting anything less than that, a massive fight in the courts. He’s a total player as you can get. It’s going take my best for me to take on him Sunday.”