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Novak Djokovic, the most successful male tennis player of the modern era, beat Lorenzo Musetti in three sets in the men’s singles semifinals of the 2023 Wimbledon Open on Friday. Djokovic had an awkward start in the first set and was broken early, but the Serbian ace played his best game and beat the Italian in the first three sets to win a convincing victory. Djokovic will face Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Sunday. Alcaraz defeated Russian Daniil Medvedev in four sets.
Just five weeks after undergoing knee surgery, seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic reached his 10th final at the All England Club by defeating the Italian 25th seed 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.
If Djokovic can avenge his five-set defeat to Alcaraz in last year’s Wimbledon final, he will tie Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and become the oldest Wimbledon champion in modern times.
Djokovic and Musetti last faced each other at the French Open in June, when the Serb won in a third-round match that ended at 3:07 a.m.
Yet, on Friday, Djokovic had no obstacles in his path to his 37th Grand Slam final.
He broke in the first game to lead 4-2, and although he lost the advantage in the ninth game and lost two set points, he broke again in the tenth game to win the set.
The second seed is in his 49th Grand Slam semifinal, while the 22-year-old Musetti is in his first.
That experience played a key role as Djokovic fought back after dropping serve in the opening game of the second set to tie the match in the sixth game and then dominated the tie-break.
A break in the first game of the third set gave Djokovic the win over a demoralized Musetti, who took some consolation by saving at least three match points before Djokovic advanced to another Wimbledon final.
Earlier, world number three Alcaraz defeated his world number five opponent 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and will play seven-time champion Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti for the title on Sunday.
Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in five sets in the 2023 final.
“Obviously it will be a very difficult match. Let’s see who I play on Sunday,” said Alcaraz, who hit 55 winners to Medvedev’s 31.
“I don’t feel like a rookie anymore. I know how I’m going to feel before the final. I’ve been in this situation before.”
He added: “I was really nervous at the beginning of the day. Daniel dominated the match and played great tennis. It was difficult for me.”
Medvedev, who was beaten twice by the Spaniard at the same stage last year, led in the first set but was ultimately pinned.
He was so frustrated that umpire Eva Asderaki issued him a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct after he reacted with an apparently foul language to a twice-bouncing ball when he was broken in the ninth game.
Asdalaki even called the tournament referee and supervisor to Centre Court, but Medvedev shrugged off the incident and sailed through the tiebreak to win the first set, in which he made only eight unforced errors to the Spaniard’s 15.
This is the third time Alcaraz has lost the first set at Wimbledon this year.
Alcaraz had a strong performance, breaking Medvedev in the second game to lead 3-1, and in the previous game, he won with a 27-shot comeback.
The 21-year-old then hit 14 winners in the third set and earned the only break in the third game.
Medvedev eliminated world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, breaking serve early in the fourth set.
But Alcaraz continued to attack and took the lead again 4-3 to win.
Using AFP Input
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