Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from a repeat performance…
The 21-year-old Spanish tennis star has returned to the Wimbledon final after rallying from a set down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in four sets in the semifinals at the All England Club on Friday afternoon, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
With the victory, Alcaraz extends his Wimbledon winning streak to 13 matches in a row—he won seven matches to capture the title a year ago, and he’s now won another six in a row this year.
He’s just the second Spanish man ever to reach multiple Wimbledon finals, after Rafael Nadal, who won the title in 2008 and 2010 and finished runner-up in 2006, 2007 and 2011.
He also stays perfect against the biggest names in the sport this year: Alcaraz is now 5-0 against Top 5 players this season following his victory over the No. 5-ranked Medvedev.
ALCARAZ VS. TOP 5 PLAYERS THIS YEAR (5-0):
d. No. 3 Sinner in Indian Wells SFs, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
d. No. 4 Medvedev in Indian Wells F, 7-6 (5), 6-1
d. No. 2 Sinner in Roland Garros SFs, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
d. No. 4 Zverev in Roland Garros F, 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
d. No. 5 Medvedev in Wimbledon SFs, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
There were several momentum swings in the first set, with Medvedev originally going up a break and building a 5-2 lead, then Alcaraz getting back on serve and pushing the set to a tie-break, where Medvedev came out swinging, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before wrapping up the opening frame, 7-1.
Then, Alcaraz came alive—he didn’t even face a single break point in the next two sets to build a two-sets-to-one lead, and then, after the two traded breaks in the first two games of the fourth set, the Spaniard broke one last time in the seventh game, eventually serving the match out a few games later.
Both players finished the match with more winners than unforced errors, but Alcaraz’s ratio was just too good with 55 to 37. Meanwhile, Medvedev had 31 to 24 on the day.
The Spaniard also broke twice as many times, six to three.
Awaiting the No. 3-seeded Alcaraz in the final will be the seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, who defeated No. 25 seed Lorenzo Musetti, in a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon men’s final.