Wimbledon 2024: Carlos Alcaraz to take on Novak Djokovic in rematch of 2023 final
By Sam Joseph, CNN
(CNN) — It is the rematch that tennis fans have been waiting for.
Carlos Alcaraz is looking to defend his Wimbledon men’s singles title on Sunday when he takes on seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
The pair played out a thrilling five-set epic in 2023, with Alcaraz eventually prevailing 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in a match that lasted nearly five hours.
Both players have won a grand slam each since that unforgettable final and are now one win away from increasing their tallies. Alcaraz is now a three-time major champion after winning the French Open last month, while Djokovic is level with Margaret Court for most grand slam titles of all time with 24.
How to watch
The final is set to begin at 9 a.m. E.T on Sunday, July 14, on Wimbledon’s iconic Centre Court.
Fans can keep up with the action on ESPN, as well as on ESPN.com and ESPN+.
Chasing more history
Djokovic enters the final as the fresher of the two players, having spent less time on court than Alcaraz and receiving a walkover in the quarterfinals after the withdrawal of ninth seed Alex de Minaur.
He has only been taken into a fourth set twice – by Jacob Fearnley in the second round and Alex Popyrin in the third – and looks to be replicating the form that has seen him hoist the men’s singles trophy on seven previous occasions.
All of that is almost miraculous given that he had knee surgery a few weeks ago.
The world No. 2 suffered a meniscus tear during his fourth-round win at Roland-Garros against Francisco Cerúndolo and was forced to pull out of the tournament, ceding his position at the top of the rankings to Jannik Sinner after becoming the oldest ever world No. 1 earlier this year.
He underwent surgery in early June and made his return to the court at SW19, despite initial speculation that he would miss the tournament he has become synonymous with.
The 37-year-old immediately allayed the injury concerns and played some of his best tennis of a season that has so far been unusually challenging – Sunday will mark Djokovic’s first final of 2024.
He will have the opportunity to tie Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and become the standalone record holder for most major titles.
Standing in his way is Alcaraz, who ended Djokovic’s 10-year, 46-game unbeaten streak on Centre Court last year.
“He’s one of the greatest 21-year-olds we’ve ever seen and we’re going to see a lot of him in the future, no doubt,” Djokovic told the BBC when asked about his opponent after his semifinal against Lorenzo Musetti.
“He’s going to win many grand slams, but hopefully not in two days. He can do it when I retire.
“He is as complete a player as they come, so it’s going to take the best of my ability to beat him.”
Alcaraz again?
It has been yet another successful season for Alcaraz, who continues to redefine expectations for the modern young player.
The world No. 3 won his fifth ATP Masters 1000 title in March as he retained his Indian Wells title and defeated Alexander Zverev in a grueling five-setter to win his maiden French Open in June.
Despite this, he has sometimes appeared to not be at his best at this year’s Wimbledon.
His first and second round matches, against Mark Lajal and Aleksandar Vukic respectively, are the only matches he has won in straight sets and he was pushed to a decider by American Francis Tiafoe in the following round.
Four-set battles with Ugo Humbert and Tommy Paul followed before a semifinal clash with former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. Alcaraz made a handful of uncharacteristic unforced errors in the match but was able to rely on his otherworldly shot-making ability to once again prevail in four sets.
“I started really, really nervous,” he said after the match. “Daniil was dominating the match, playing great tennis. It was difficult for me.
“I feel like I’m not new anymore, I know how I’m going to feel before the final. I’ve been in this position before. I will try to do the things I did well last year and try to be better and try to do the things that went well.”
He will need to be at his best to take down Djokovic again and level the head-to-head series between the pair – the Serb currently leads 3-2 after wins at the Cincinnati Masters and the ATP Finals in 2023.
Alcaraz is currently undefeated in three grand slam finals however and possesses an incredible 14-4 record in ATP Tour finals at only 21 years old. If he comes out on top on Sunday, he will become only the sixth man to win Wimbledon and Roland-Garros in the same season – known as the ‘Channel Slam’.
A victory could also kickstart a joyous Sunday for those in Alcaraz’s native Spain, whose national football team will take on England in the Euro 2024 final later in the day.
Alcaraz bravely joked with the crowd after his semifinal that “Sunday is going to be a good day for Spanish people.”
The-CNN-Wire
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