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Playing only his fourth grasscourt tournament at Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz beat Daniil Medvedev on Friday to become the youngest finalist at the tournament in nearly two decades.
In a contest that was played under a closed roof on Centre Court, the 20-year-old Spaniard started strongly, taking the first set for the loss of just three games. It was the same story in the second and third sets too as Medvedev couldn't find a foothold in the match. The scoreline read, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Having lost his only grasscourt meeting with Medvedev two years ago at Wimbledon, Alcaraz exacted sweet revenge as he reached his second Grand Slam final.
In the process, Alcaraz became only the second Spaniard in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon final, joining Manolo Santana and Rafael Nadal. The World No. 1 is also the youngest player to reach the SW19 final since a 20-year-old Nadal did so in 2006.
Alcaraz will, though, look to avoid the same fate that befell Nadal that year. The latter fell to the then three-time defending champion Roger Federer.
Fast forward 17 years, Alcaraz will take on four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday. The Serb hasn't lost in 34 matches at Wimbledon since losing to Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarterfinals.
"I am going to enjoy this amazing moment" - Carlos Alcaraz on reaching Wimbledon final
Carlos Alcaraz has been in a rich vein of form on grass this season. After winning his first title on the surface at Queen's three weeks ago, the Spaniard is into his second straight final on grass, his first at Wimbledon.
Acknowledging the significance of his achievement, the World No. 1 said that he's living a dream and will look to savour the moment:
"It was a dream for me, playing a semifinal here, and now playing a final here at Wimbledon. I can’t believe it. I am going to enjoy this amazing moment."
Admitting his difficulty in closing the match, Alcaraz applauded Medvedev for making his job tougher:
“It was really, really difficult to close the match. I had to be really, really focused. He fought until the last ball. He is an amazing fighter. I had to show my best in that tough moment and play aggressive. Be myself all the time and I think that was the key to close out the match.”
The winner of the final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will be the World No. 1 on Monday.
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