History will be made on Centre Court on Sunday when seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic seeks a record-equalling eighth men's singles title against titleholder Carlos Alcaraz in a rematch of last year's decider.
The Spaniard dispatched Daniil Medvedev in four sets to make back-to-back title matches, while arguably the greatest player to have held a tennis racquet beat Lorenzo Musetti in three to reach a sixth straight final.
Match preview
With Alcaraz down a set to Medvedev in Friday's first semi-final, you would have forgiven anyone watching for doubting whether last year's champion had been replaced by an impostor.
The Spaniard's worrisome glut of errors from his forehand wing in particular had observers thinking his Russian opponent would prevent a potential Djokovic sequel, thus striking again after beating Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final to deny a mouth-watering last-four battle between the Italian No. 1 and the three-time Grand Slam champion.
Alcaraz, as is his wont, responded impressively to beat the disruptor-in-chief in four, showcasing the shot execution and court coverage that magnify his stratospheric talent, sealing a final place after a 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 triumph.
The upshot of the No. 3 seed's victory means the 21-year-old gets a shot at retaining the title he won oh-so impressively in a thrilling five-setter against the seven-time champion, seeking to be the first Spaniard to reign supreme on the lawns of Wimbledon in consecutive years.
Rafael Nadal, Spain's other winner in the Open Era, notched two wins at the Championships (2008 and 2010) but never in consecutive years, as knee tendinitis put paid to a title defence in 2009, forcing him to withdraw.
He did get a chance at retaining after his 2010 triumph, making it to the 2011 final, only to be stopped by – you guessed it – Djokovic, who claimed the first of his seven titles. Thirteen years later, Alcaraz aims to avoid an outcome that befell his compatriot against his more experienced opponent on Sunday.
The 21-year-old is touted as the present and future of men's tennis, and he seeks to become the first man not named Roger Federer or Djokovic to clinch back-to-back successes at SW19 since the turn of the millennium.
Facing the Serbian is the ultimate acid test, the rite of passage for anyone keen to dethrone the last of the Big Three, even if the 24-time Slam champion was beaten in the title match last year.
A year removed from that five-set loss to a then-20-year-old, he is back at 37, seeking another triumph at the All England Club to move level with Federer on eight victories at the Championships.
After a first half of the year that has been atypical of the man, the Serbian seeks his first title of 2024 at the midway point, keen to notch his 99th Tour-level success.
Considering all this seemed a pipe dream after it emerged that he had undergone surgery following the knee injury that forced him to withdraw at Roland Garros at the start of June, it only enhances the 37-year-old's superhuman qualities.
Speaking on the eve of the tournament, Djokovic asserted that he would participate only if he was sure he could compete; and he has and then some en route to his 10th final at SW19 and a sixth in succession.
Fuelled by his unmistakable drive, a clinical edge on the big points, an enviable adeptness at recovering from adversity and benefitting from a kind draw, the 24-time Slam winner seeks a historic 25th major, surpassing Margaret Court to become the player with the most Grand Slam victories in tennis history.
His semi-final victory over an in-form Musetti was instructive: the first-time semi-finalist played admirably, but still fell in straight sets, seeing Djokovic go through 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-4 after two hours and 48 minutes, strikingly just seven minutes shy of Alcaraz's win over Medvedev in the earlier last-four match.
What has played out at this year's Championships and a clinical straight-set victory over the Italian beg the question: is Djokovic inevitable?
Tournament so far
Carlos Alcaraz:
First round: vs. Mark Lajal 7-6[3] 7-5 6-2
Second round: vs. Aleksandar Vukic 7-6[5] 6-2 6-2
Third round: vs. Frances Tiafoe 5-7 6-2 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2
Round of 16: vs. Ugo Humbert 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-5
Quarter-final: vs. Tommy Paul 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-2
Semi-final: vs. Daniil Medvedev 6-7[1] 6-3 6-4 6-4
Novak Djokovic:
First round: vs. Vit Kopriva 6-1 6-2 6-2
Second round: vs. Jacob Fearnley 6-3 6-4 5-7 7-5
Third round: vs. Alexei Popyrin 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6[3]
Round of 16: vs. Holger Rune 6-3 6-4 6-2
Quarter-final: vs. vs. Alex de Minaur walkover
Semi-final: vs. Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 7-6[2] 6-4
Head To Head
Madrid Masters (2022) - Semi-final: Alcaraz 6-7(5) 7-5 7-6(5)
Roland Garros (2023) - Semi-final: Djokovic 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1
Wimbledon (2023) - Final: Alcaraz 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4
Cincinnati Masters (2023) - Final: Djokovic 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4)
ATP Finals (2023) - Semi-final: Djokovic 6-3 6-2
Djokovic seeks a third straight win over his significantly younger rival, having won both matches since the 2023 Wimbledon final, taking him 3-2 up in the pair's head-to-head.
An in-form Alcaraz stunned the Serbian at the Championships last year, edging a tight second-set tie-break 8-6 to prevent him from falling two sets behind before dispatching the seven-time champion 6-1 in the third.
However, Djokovic responded impressively to force a decider and could have gone a break up in the second game of the fifth set — saved by Alcaraz, who then got what proved to be the decisive break of serve in the next game.
That triumph came after the Spaniard struggled with cramps in their semi-final match at Roland Garros weeks earlier to lose in four sets.
Alcaraz went ahead in their Tour-level meetings after that win but has been unsuccessful since, losing a tight three-setter at the Masters 1000 match in Cincinnati and barely laying a finger on the former No. 1 in their last meeting at last year's ATP finals.
We say: Djokovic to win in five sets
Alcaraz's historic 2023 run to end Djokovic's Wimbledon reign came on the back of success at the Queen's Club Championships, seeing the Spaniard notch 12 straight wins on grass.
The 21-year-old has not been as convincing this year, losing to Jack Draper in the second round at Queen's, although he has shown flashes of brilliance in his title defence to make consecutive finals — extending his sequence at the All England Club to 13 victories on the trot.
Djokovic, admittedly, is also not playing at last year's level, but the Serbian will not be as forgiving as Alcaraz's previous opponents who have failed to exploit the three-time Slam champion's intermittent losses of focus en route to back-to-back deciders at SW19.
The knee is fine and the 24-time Grand Slam champion has moved remarkably all tournament, and we are backing him to defeat the titleholder in five sets to make history on the lawns of Wimbledon, thus snapping his opponent's run of triumphs in such encounters at the majors.
He is inevitable.
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