SF Preview: Can Alcaraz 'Rinse & Repeat' vs. Medvedev? Musetti aims to push Djokovic again

  • Posted: Jul 11, 2024

There are some striking similarities to last year in the semi-final lineup at Wimbledon 2024. Carlos Alcaraz will hope the last-four results follow suit.

The third seed and defending champion at the grass-court major takes on Daniil Medvedev on Friday in a repeat of the pair’s 2023 semi-final. Alcaraz dropped just nine games en route to victory against Medvedev last year but remains wary of an opponent who will take to court fresh from defeating World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals.

“[Medvedev] is a really great player,” said Alcaraz after his fourth-round triumph against Tommy Paul. “The same semi-final as last year and hopefully I’m going to get the same result. He just beat Jannik Sinner, the best player right now, so I know he is in really good shape.

“I have to play my best. I have to believe in myself and try to keep going if I want to beat him. It is going to be a difficult one, but I’m going to enjoy it.”

Medvedev partly avenged his heavy defeat at Wimbledon a year ago by winning his only Grand Slam meeting with Alcaraz since. He prevailed against the Spaniard in four sets last September at the US Open, and he has clearly identified the key to securing another major victory against his Top 5 rival.

“I have to serve better,” said Medvedev on Tuesday when asked about his plan for the Alcaraz semi-final rematch. “That’s still the most important thing on grass. You serve aces, you serve on the line, you’re less in trouble, and you feel better. That’s where you can put pressure on his serve.

“He’s a tough player. He can hit strong. He can slice. He can dropshot. He can volley. He knows how to play tennis. Just need to be at my best, like kind of how [I played against Sinner] and try to win.”

[ATP APP]

In another repeat from 2023, Novak Djokovic takes on an Italian opponent in the other semi-final on Centre Court. Unlike last year, his challenge will not be to overcome the power of Sinner, but instead to deny the court craft of Lorenzo Musetti.

The No. 16 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Musetti outlasted Taylor Fritz on Wednesday to become just the fourth Italian man to reach a Wimbledon semi-final. Friday’s clash with Djokovic will not be a wholly novel experience for the 22-year-old, however.

Musetti has twice faced the Serbian on the Grand Slam stage at Roland Garros, where he took both matches to five sets before falling. The most recent of those defeats took place fewer than six weeks ago at the 2024 edition of the clay major in Paris, where Djokovic clinched victory at 3:08 a.m.

“I think I analysed that match really well and the key moments where I could do better,” said Musetti when asked about the lessons learned from his Roland Garros loss. “I put myself in that position. I think in the past weeks, starting from Stuttgart, I started to feel more continuous on that, on the attitude.”

Djokovic will have had a rare three days off to prepare for Friday’s semi-final after his last-eight opponent Alex de Minaur withdrew due to injury. While the way he uses his time off court may have changed over the course of his career, his on-court motivation remains as high as ever. Already a record 24-time major champion, Djokovic is bidding to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon men’s singles titles this year.

“I do enjoy my time with my family, with my kids, for example. I had some really nice time with my daughter yesterday on-site,” said Djokovic, who this fortnight has been motioning to play a violin during his victory celebrations in a nod to his daughter, Tara, who is learning the craft. “I try to mix things up.

“In those off days when I don’t have matches, I try to practise, but also get my mind off tennis a little bit and enjoy the quality time with close ones. But the tension and the pressure and the stress is really high, as high as it always has been.”

History will give Djokovic good reason to feel confident as he prepares for his record-equalling 13th Wimbledon men’s singles semi-final. The 37-year-old leads Musetti 5-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, with the Italian’s only triumph coming at the 2023 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. He is also vastly more experienced on the lawns of SW19: Djokovic holds a 96-11 match record at Wimbledon compared to 7-3 for Musetti.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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