Wimbledon 2024, Live Score: Alcaraz fights back, Medvedev leads 5-3 in first set of semifinal

PREVIEW (via Reuters)

The Wimbledon men’s singles semifinals take centre stage at the All England Club on Friday. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed, is up against Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in a repeat of their semifinal from a year ago. They will be followed on Centre Court by seven-time champion Novak Djokovic who is taking on Italian Lorenzo Musetti who has reached his first Grand Slam semifinal.

Alcaraz vs Medvedev

If fifth seed Medvedev is to halt Spaniard Alcaraz’s bid to retain the trophy he won last year, he had better arrive on Centre Court with a better plan than a year ago.

On that occasion, the Russian baseliner was swept aside in ruthless fashion and Alcaraz then went on to claim the title by defeating Djokovic two days later in the final.

Medvedev will take heart from his five-set victory over world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, the Russian’s relentless baseline eventually wearing down an opponent who was troubled by illness.

The 28-year-old has won six of his previous eight Grand Slam semifinals but has only converted one of those progressions into a title – the 2021 U.S. Open. He avenged his Wimbledon defeat against Alcaraz by beating him in the U.S. Open semifinals but lost their only meeting this year in the Indian Wells final.

Alcaraz has worked hard to reach the semifinals. He needed five sets to edge past Frances Tiafoe in the third round, four to beat Ugo Humbert in the next and also trailed by a set before beating American Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals. When he needs his A-game, however, Alcaraz steps up and he will have the added incentive, if he required one, of trying to set up a super Sunday for Spain with its football team facing England in the Euro 2024 final.

Djokovic vs Musetti

Musetti, the 25th seed, will be trying to follow Jasmine Paolini’s lead in the women’s draw and reach the men’s singles final on what could be an historic day for Italian tennis. Italy has never had a player in the men’s and women’s singles final at a Grand Slam but standing in Musetti’s way is 37-year-old Djokovic who is eyeing a men’s record-equalling eighth Wimbledon crown and record 25th Grand Slam title.

The Serb, who had knee surgery after the French Open, looked imperious in his fourth-round win over Holger Rune and then got a day off when quarterfinal opponent Alex de Minaur withdrew because of a hip injury.

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Djokovic’s bizarre post-match outburst against so-called disrespectful fans after his win against Rune will make for an interesting atmosphere on Centre Court, when underdog Musetti will be guaranteed plenty of support. He will need it as his head-to-head record against Djokovic stands at 1-5 – his only success coming on clay in Monte Carlo last year. He did push the Serb to five sets in the French Open though, a match that finished in the early hours.

Here is the schedule of the men’s semifinals:

Centre Court

[5] Daniil Medvedev vs [3] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) – 6PM IST

[25] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) vs [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)