Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz puts on a show to beat Daniil Medvedev on Centre Court… and he is now one game away from defending his Wimbledon crown
On a day when everyone expected boos on Centre Court, no one expected Carlos Alcaraz to provoke the wrath of the crowd.
“Sunday will be a good day for the Spaniards,” the 21-year-old said after beating Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals, making it likely that Spain will win both Wimbledon and the European Championship on Sunday night.
The crowd responded with enthusiastic boos and Alcaraz protested: ‘I didn’t say Spain would win!’
Only Novak Djokovic and Gareth Southgate stand in the way of one of the great days in Spanish sporting history.
These parallel rounds to the final have become intertwined over the past two weeks, with Alcaraz winning his previous two rounds on the same night as the footballers advanced.
Carlos Alcaraz has qualified for the men’s singles final on Sunday after a dominant performance
Daniil Medvedev won the first set but lost to the reigning Wimbledon champion
The teams closely followed each other’s progress; Alcaraz followed his team’s victory over Germany on his phone in an ice bath, while his good friend and Spanish striker Alvaro Morata prepared for the semi-final against France by watching Alcaraz beat Tommy Paul.
If Spain double their stakes on Sunday, there will be at least one result that will be popular in England: Alcaraz is the new darling of Centre Court and he has literally left everyone in awe with his superb shots.
Medvedev – a born spoilsport and disruptor – had denied us the Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner semi-final we were hoping for and he had almost denied us a semi-final altogether, narrowly escaping a standard warning for insulting the referee.
The 28-year-old Russian served for the first set but was on break point when he rushed for a drop shot from Alcaraz. He thought he was there in time, but umpire Eva Asderaki ruled – correctly – that the ball had bounced twice. As he walked to his chair, Medvedev had a few polite words for the official.
“I said something in Russian, not nice, but not out of line either,” he said.
Asderaki called the tournament referee and supervisor to the court. The three put their heads together and decided that a warning would suffice, but Medvedev seemed to come very close to a default.
Asked if he was afraid of being expelled from the tournament, Medvedev replied: “Not at all, because, as I said, I didn’t say anything bad.”
He brushed aside the incident and won the first set, showing a marked improvement over the semi-final defeat he suffered against the same opponent last year.
Alcaraz took control of the match in the second set and never let go on his way to victory
That match was marked by Alcaraz taking advantage of Medvedev’s deep position – almost shoulder to shoulder with the line judges – with drop shots and serve volleying.
Medvedev forced himself forward on the return on Friday and that change may have contributed to Alcaraz’s miserable 48 first-serve percentage in that first set.
The Russian’s coach Gilles Cevara explained his tactics against Alcaraz to the French newspaper L’Equipe this week: ‘You have to put Alcaraz in a zone where he can doubt. If he doubts, he can become emotional and make mistakes.’
There were certainly some doubts in the first set, but once Alcaraz settled down and got his serve in order, he took full control.
“I started off really nervous,” said the No. 3. “I started feeling all the nerves at the beginning of the second set. It really helped to get up 3-1, I started playing my strokes.”
Alcaraz’s only real weakness is the impatience of youth; the tendency to opt for the spectacular rather than the efficient.
On his way to victory, he went for an easy smash, but instead attempted an overhead drop shot.
Alcaraz said he felt ‘calm’ in the final moments before his victory on Centre Court
“At that moment I felt really calm. I felt the confidence to hit those shots,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a disaster, but it helps me a lot to relax, laugh and have fun on the course. Sometimes it’s hard to hit the simple shots.”
Alcaraz had 55 winners to his name at the end, but he has not really produced a complete performance in these two weeks. He has suffered from various nerves during his run to the French Open title and has lost the first set in three of his last four matches here.
He will have to hold his nerve and step it up a notch if he wants to maintain his unbeaten record in Grand Slam finals and win one of the many Wimbledon titles.