Novak Djokovic to play Carlos Alcaraz in Wimbledon final for second straight year

WIMBLEDON—Nine years ago at the All England Club, Novak Djokovic met Roger Federer in the Wimbledon’s men’s singles final. It was the second consecutive time the two of them had met one another on that occasion. Back in 2015, Djokovic was the younger player and defending champion, keen to once again topple the man who by that stage had won Wimbledon seven times.

This year, for the first time since then, Wimbledon will have a repeat men’s singles final. Djokovic is now the one with seven titles, eager to regain his place on Wimbledon’s throne by beating Carlos Alcaraz, the younger player who took away his title 12 months ago.

Read More: Carlos Alcaraz battles past Daniil Medvedev to reach second straight Wimbledon final

“Obviously I'm aware that Roger holds eight Wimbledons,” Djokovic said. “I hold seven. History is on the line. Also, the 25th potential Grand Slam. Of course, it serves as a great motivation, but at the same time it's also a lot of pressure and expectations.

“Every time I step out on the court now, even though I'm 37 and competing with the 21-year-olds, I still expect myself to win most of the matches, and people expect me to win, whatever, 99 percent of the matches that I play.

“I always have to come out on the court and perform my best in order to still be at the level with Carlos or Jannik or Sascha or (Daniil or) any of those guys.”

To reach his 37th Grand Slam singles final, Djokovic in today’s semi had to weather a predictable and mildly formidable second-set storm from Lorenzo Musetti before grabbing hold of the match and, in two hours and 48 minutes, winning it, 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-4.

Keep in mind that Djokovic had knee surgery a mere five weeks ago.

“The first couple of rounds maybe I wasn't moving as well,” said Djokovic, “and I was still finding that freedom to move, so to say. Then third, fourth round particularly onwards I felt like, Okay, I'm not thinking about the knee. I'm actually playing free, and I'm playing as good as I can.”

One notable statistic from today’s match that might have implications for Sunday’s final: Djokovic won 43 of 56 points at the net, including an extraordinary 16 of 17 when he served-and-volleyed. “He showed that he's really in great shape,” said Musetti, “I think not only in tennis, but physically.”

At every tennis club, park, hotel and private court, there are those who share an affinity with Musetti. These are the players who live for the chance to rattle off highlight show-worthy winners. Often, they play on emotion, hoping the momentum generated by a single placement can spark them to victory. But as that keen strategist Brad Gilbert once told me, “In tennis, there’s no three-point line.” More soberly, Musetti hits many great shots, but not enough good shots; that is, not the kind that can trouble Djokovic in a sustainable, wire-to-wire way.

Twice, Musetti has extended Djokovic to five sets at Roland Garros. In both instances, he was completely spent by the decider. On grass, where Musetti has less time to execute his strokes, the task is even taller. Hand it to Musetti for an inspired run to the semis and patches of brilliance against Djokovic.

The Musetti flurry came early in the second set, when, having struck a magnificent crosscourt backhand passing shot, he took a 3-1 lead. “I think it's a great matchup between the two sides,” said Musetti. Backhand-to-backhand exchanges are what make Musetti-Djokovic matches intermittently compelling. Djokovic’s bread-and-butter shot is his two-handed crosscourt backhand. On the vast majority of those occasions, the opponent is a fellow two-hander, graced with an excellent drive of his own. Of course, it’s not quite as good as Djokovic’s. Soon enough, in nearly every rally, the see-saw tilts in Djokovic’s favor.

But Musetti’s one-hander is capable of all sorts of variations, be it slices carved crosscourt or curled down-the-line, to thundering drives that can either go off the court or through it, as well as the occasional drop shot.

“He's an awkward player to play against because he has that slice, defense slice,” said Djokovic. “He's so talented. You don't know what to expect in a way. Each shot could be different.”

Serving at 3-2, though, Musetti dropped his serve at love. While he fought off a set point at 5-6, 30-40, once in the tiebreaker, Djokovic’s air-tight excellence in those situations proved conclusive. Quickly, he went ahead 3-0 and swiftly closed it out, 7-2. Once Djokovic broke Musetti to start the third, it became extremely difficult to imagine this match not ending in straight sets. “I think his tennis really fit very well on this surface,” said Musetti. “Especially how he returns, it's something like kind of a joke. I have to say today was really a joke at the end how he was returning.”

To Musetti’s credit, he rallied from 3-5, love-40, held serve, and, in the next game, earned a break point for 5-all. Here, Djokovic showed what makes him a champion: two excellent volleys, a retrieval of a Musetti lob, and enough depth off the baseline to extract a netted forehand. Two points later, Musetti drove a backhand long.

“I have to say that I go home with a lot of positive things to bring and positive feelings,” said Musetti. “Has been two amazing weeks for me. You know, was really surprising how I could stay at his level today. Proud of what I've achieved in this tournament.”

As for Djokovic, come Sunday he will play in his tenth final here. Only twice has he lost, last year to Alcaraz, and in ’13 against an inspired Andy Murray.

“Wimbledon just extracts the best of me,” said Djokovic, “and motivates me to really always show up and perform the best I can.”

That he’s has played this well so soon after surgery is arguably a miracle. Then again, as Djokovic might well say during one of his philosophical moments, perhaps his entire life journey is also a miracle.