Novak Djokovic Advances to Wimbledon Final, Will Face Carlos Alcaraz Again

For the second straight year, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will face off for the Wimbledon men’s singles title.

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On Friday, Djokovic took down Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets, while Alcaraz beat Daniil Medvedev in four sets, setting up a rematch of the 2023 Wimbledon Final.

Alcaraz beat Djokovic in five sets at last year’s Wimbledon Final, winning his second career Grand Slam title and first on the famed Wimbledon grass. Alcaraz won 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, preventing Djokovic from winning a calendar Grand Slam.

Since then, both Djokovic and Alcaraz have each won one Grand Slam — Djokovic at the 2023 US Open and Alcaraz at the 2024 French Open last month. Djokovic had to withdraw from the French Open ahead of his quarterfinal match due to a knee injury. Djokovic then underwent meniscus surgery, and quickly worked his way back for a dominant Wimbledon performance.

Djokovic, Wimbledon’s No. 2 seed this year behind Jannik Sinner, has lost just two sets the entire tournament. However, Djokovic has had a pretty clear path, only having to play two ranked opponents — No. 15 Holger Rune in the fourth round and No. 25 Musetti in the semifinals. Djokovic was scheduled to face No. 9 Alex De Minaur in the quarterfinals, but he was forced to withdraw due to a hip injury.

Alcaraz, on the other hand, has had a much tougher path. Alcaraz had to face No. 29 Frances Tiafoe in the third round. He beat him in five sets, but had to win the last two sets to take the match. Then, Alcaraz faced No. 16 Ugo Humbert in the fourth round and No. 12 Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals, winning both matches in four sets. Alcaraz then took care of No. 5 Medvedev in four sets on Friday.

Alcaraz is looking to become just the 14th player (men or women) to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles. Djokovic has done that twice, winning in 2014 and ’15, 2018 and ’19, and 2021 and ’22. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the pandemic, so Djokovic technically won four straight Wimbledon titles from 2018-22.

While Alcaraz is aiming to win his fourth career Grand Slam title, Djokovic is looking to win No. 25. His 24 Grand Slam titles are the most in men’s singles history, and are tied with Margaret Court for the most of any tennis player. Both players will be vying for history on Sunday.

Last year, after Alcaraz beat Djokovic for his first career Wimbledon title, he called it a “dream come true.”

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Alcaraz said. “It’s great to win, but even if I would have lost, I would be really proud of myself, making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of our sport. It’s incredible.”

Fast forward one year, and Alcaraz finds himself in the exact same spot — but this time, with even more history on the line.