Men’s Wimbledon Semi-Finals
Sinner vs Djokovic
After brilliant victories in Melbourne and Paris already this year, Novak Djokovic is still on for the elusive Calendar Slam. He is two games away from yet another Wimbledon title, and is a big favourite to beat Jannik Sinner on Friday.
It should prove a fascinating contest. Tipped as a future world No 1 since he burst on to the scene a couple of years ago, Sinner has yet to show any of the consistency Djokovic is famous for.
Sinner’s only title so far in 2023 came at the Open 13 in Montpellier where he beat Maxime Cressy 7-6 (3) 6-3 in the final. He also reached the final of the Miami Open and made the semi-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Italian Open.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head 2-0 but Sinner gave him an almighty scare in the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finals, with the Serb coming from two sets down before digging out a 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 win.
When Djokovic steps on to Centre Court on Friday afternoon, he will do so as a player who has not lost on its grass in just over 10 years. 44 consecutive matches.
He has not looked completely dominant so far at SW19, but ominously is in the semis once more.
The Italian is playing his first ever Grand Slam semi on Friday – and an opponent who has no obvious weakness.
However only a fool would bet against Djokovic on Centre Court and so the punt here is to take the 5/6 that the match lasts more than 35.5 games.
Alcaraz vs Medvedev
Carlos Alcaraz had what looked on paper the more challenging quarter-final clash in the bottom half of the draw, but he cruised through it with little trouble at all.
By contrast, Daniil Medvedev needed to work hard to make his game fit grass and to overcome spirited American Christopher Eubanks.
Neither player has a great deal of familiarity with grass, even if Medvedev has been on tour for much longer. However, Alcaraz has a game that is naturally better suited to the surface.
It doesn’t take much for Alcaraz to adapt his all-action approach to grass, and a lot of his past struggles with the surface have been related to the timing of movement and shots.
Medvedev has battled for grass court success simply because he favours remaining deep in the court. As a taller player though, his serve can be an absolute nightmare to face if he is on song.
Alcaraz might have lost to Medvedev at Wimbledon in their 2021 meeting, but the Spaniard is now a totally different beast, as demonstrated when he crushed the Russian in the Indian Wells final earlier this season.
