Novak Djokovic gets Carlos Alcaraz revenge wish after setting up Wimbledon final rematch
Novak Djokovic will face Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final again
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Novak Djokovic will get his chance at revenge against Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday after beating Lorenzo Musetti to reach a sixth-consecutive Wimbledon final.
Djokovic saw his unprecedented 10-year unbeaten Centre Court record brought to an emphatic end 12 months ago in what appeared to be a passing-of-the-torch loss to Alcaraz.
But the 24-time Grand Slam champion is still unwilling to relent his title as king of Wimbledon and has been on a mission in this year’s championships to get to a sixth consecutive Wimbledon final.
Djokovic entered the tournament with serious doubts on his fitness and the sight of a large grey sleeve over his right knee raised further concerns.
Novak Djokovic will face Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final again
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He underwent surgery after tearing his meniscus at the French Open and admitted he ‘wasn’t thinking about Wimbledon’ immediately after the operation.
But the 37-year-old has brushed off any concerns with yet another remarkable run at Wimbledon.
He’s been helped along the way with several top seeds going out early and Alex de Minaur withdrawing from their quarter-final to give him a bye into the final four.
But nobody has been able to pay a scratch on the seven-time Wimbledon champion and it was a similar story against Musetti.
The Italian has been the surprise package in this year’s men’s singles draw at Wimbledon.
He’d previously never made it past the fourth round at a major in 13 attempts but the 22-year-old similarly took advantage from his side of the draw opening up.
The 2019 Australian Open junior champion pulled off an impressive win over Taylor Fritz to reach the semifinals, but Djokovic was always going to be a different challenge entirely.
Even slightly wounded, Djokovic remains the most dangerous man to play on Centre Court at Wimbledon and that showed in the first set as he showcased his powers at the net.
Musetti’s second serve ultimately cost him as Djokovic took the opening set, however a rare double fault from the world No 3 saw him go down a break at the very start of the second set.
The underdog had the full support of Centre Court behind him at that point with the crowd desperate for the 22-year-old to prolong the match further.
Novak Djokovic gave little away against Lorenzo Musetti
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And he had the 15,000-strong crowd in the palm of his hand at one stage after hitting one of the shots of the tournament with an outstretched one-handed backhand winner that even drew applause from across the net.
Musetti regrouped to force a tiebreak and once again had the crowd on their feet with a stunning forehand winner around the side of the net post.
But it proved to be just a flash in the pan for the Italian as Djokovic put his foot on the gas to wrap up the second set and edge ever closer to his 10th Wimbledon final.
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Lorenzo Musetti was playing in his first major semi-final
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Djokovic sensed blood at the start of the third set and pounced at the very first opportunity with Musetti's head dropping even lower.
The Centre Court crowd sensed an extremely unlikely comeback was out of reach at that point as Djokovic proved relentless as he steamrolled to victory.
It sets up the exact same final from 12 months ago with Djokovic hoping for a different result this time around.