Djokovic, Alcaraz showdown in Wimbledon men’s final

WIMBLEDON, England (AP):

This was the moment. If Novak Djokovic was going to be stopped in the Wimbledon semifinals, if his much younger and harder-hitting opponent, Jannik Sinner, was going to turn things around Friday, the monumental comeback required would need to start immediately.

Djokovic knew it. Sinner knew it. The 15,000 or so Centre Court spectators knew it.

After taking the first two sets, Djokovic trailed 5-4 in the third, and a flubbed forehand made the game score 15-40 as he served. Two chances for Sinner to finally break. Two chances for him to actually take a set. Djokovic hit a fault, which drew some sounds of approval from the stands. Djokovic sarcastically used his racket and the ball to applaud the noise-makers, then flashed a thumbs-up.

He can back up any such bravado. Djokovic simply does not lose at the All England Club lately. Or at any Grand Slam tournament, for that matter. So he calmly collected the next four points to claim that game, looked toward the crowd and mockingly pretended to wipe away a tear. Twenty minutes later, the match was over, and the 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Sinner allowed Djokovic to close in on a record-tying eighth title at Wimbledon and fifth in a row.

“The third set could have gone his way,” said Djokovic, who will meet No. 1-ranked Carlos Alcaraz for the trophy on Sunday. “It was really, really, just a lot of pressure.”

Alcaraz showed off every bit of his many talents, including winning 17 of 20 points when he serve-and-volleyed, while beating No. 3 Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to make his way to his first final at the grass-court major tournament.

While Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, is pursuing a 24th Grand Slam singles championship, Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, seeks his second after winning the US Open last September.

LEGEND

“What can I say? Everybody knows the legend he is,” Alcaraz said about Djokovic. “It’s going to be really, really difficult. But I will fight ... I will believe in myself, I will believe that I can beat him here.”

No one has managed to beat Djokovic at Wimbledon since 2017. And no one has managed to beat him at Centre Court since 2013.

Against Sinner, Djokovic repeatedly served himself out of potential trouble, saving all six break points he faced, to reach his ninth final at the All England Club. It’s also his 35th final at all Grand Slam tournaments, more than any man or woman in tennis history.

As great as he is as a returner, as superb as his defence is – over and over, he would sprint and lean and stretch to get to a ball that extended a point until Sinner made a mistake – Djokovic possesses a serve that might be the part of his game he’s improved the most over his career.

That showed yesterday and it’s showed throughout this fortnight: In his half-dozen matches during the tournament, Djokovic has won 100 of his 103 service games and saved 16 of 19 break points.

“In the pressure moments, he was playing very good. Not missing,” Sinner said. “That’s him.”

The age gap between Djokovic and Sinner, 21, was the largest between Wimbledon men’s semifinalists in the Open era, which began in 1968. Djokovic would be the oldest champion at Wimbledon since professionals were first allowed to compete that year.

“I feel 36 is the new 26, I guess,” Djokovic said. “It feels good.”