ATP
Djokovic deflates Musetti to set up final rerun
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz surged to victories on Friday to set up a repeat of last year’s final at Wimbledon.
Djokovic, hunting his eighth trophy at the All England Club, dismantled stylish Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in their one-way semi-final, reaching his 10th final here.
Defending champion Alcaraz needed to produce a solid effort to comeback against Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Alcaraz beat the 37-year-old Serb for the title here a year ago but has since lost twice last season to the veteran.
Djokovic, who underwent keyhole knee surgery just over a month ago, has not played a final in 2024; his last was a trophy win over Jannik Sinner at the year-end event last November in Turin.
Alcaraz will be seeking a fourth title at a major while Djokovic will be going for a record-breaking 25th of his career.
“It’s always good to be in a final of a Grand Slam,” third-ranked Alcaraz said after defeating Medvedev. “Obviously it’s great to be back in a Wimbledon final.
“I try not to think that I’m the defending champion. I just go into every match thinking I have chances to lose.
“Every match, it’s a war – the opponent is going to put his best tennis to beat you. I have to play my best tennis if I want to keep going.”
Alcaraz said he cannot dwell on his current status as a target for Djokovic.
“Honestly, since the tournament began, I didn’t think I’m the defending champion. I try to play a better tennis every match.”
Medvedev was quick to admit he was outplayed.
“Carlos plays well. The plan I came up with was working not so bad – the match was much closer than last year.
“He seemed to touch almost every ball on the court. He played much better than all the opponents I faced here before, and hence I lost.”
Against the 25th-ranked Musetti, Djokovic struck first with a break for 4-2 on a return which barely caught the line but was pegged back as he tried to serve for the set leading 5-3.
Musetti delivered a winner down the line for 4-5 but was broken a game later as the Serb claimed the opener. ,
The Italian answered with a break to start the second set and fought through four deuces to hold a game later.
Djokovic snatched that away 3-all, winning the set for a two-set lead and polished off his trip into Sunday’s showdown with an early break in the third set which held up for the straight-sets defeat even as Musetti saved three match points in the penultimate game.
The Serb remains unbeaten at the Wimbledon semi-final stage since 2012, when he lost to Roger Federer.
Musetti was Djokovi’s second consecutive Italian opponent in a semi-final here after stopping current No. 1 Jannik Sinner at the final four stage 12 months ago.
Djokovic was thrilled to have reached his 37th final at a Grand Slam.
“Wimbledon was always a childhood dream, to play it, to win it. It’s been an incredible journey for me, one I try not to take for granted.
“During the match, it’s business time, try to do your work and outplay your opponent.
“I’m pleased and happy to be in another final. But I don’t want to stop here.
“Hopefully I’ll get my hands on that trophy on Sunday.”
Main photo:- Novak Djokovic plays his “violin” to the crowd after winning semi-final by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
Two-time champion Casper Ruud had to work for more than two and a half hours to overcome Jaime Faria, the Portuguese who put out Stan Wawrinka in the first round at the Gstaad Swiss Open on Thursday.
Faria was riding the momentum from Tuesday’s defeat of three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka, set to retire this season and beaten in an opening match at his home venue.
Faria had his eye on a second upset as he faced Ruud, who lifted the trophy at this elite alpine village in 2021 and 2022.
Ruud ahd to dodge a bullet and mount a comeback to get through the second-round test against the Portuguese.
After dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker, Ruud played patiently as Faria saved five break points in the sixth game of the second set before failing on the sixth.
Ruud then pulled away for a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2 victory, his first since Roland Garros.
“Sometimes it is hard to say when you get a good feeling and you start to win some games in a row,” the winner said.
“You try from the first game to the last, but suddenly something clicked in the middle of the second for me, luckily.”
He added: “I had to really fight hard and if I played one bad game in the second and he serves well, it could be over and it would be time to go home. But luckily I can extend the stay.”
The Scandinavian could join Spaniards Sergi Bruguera and Alex Corretja as three-time winners in the Alps, with Ruud now standing 10-1 here over his career.
Stefanost Tsitsipas said he slept soundly prior to finishing off a darkness-interrupted match on Thursday as he eliminated local Jerome Kym at the Gstaad Swiss Open.
The Greek who once cracked third in the world and the 186th-ranked Swiss returned to the clay after darkness on Wednesday night left them hanging at 5-all in the third set.
Tsitsipas revved up his game from the resumption to emerge into the quarter-finals 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5).
The second seed now standing 85th in the world after several poor seasons and a split with his father as his coach, said getting his rest was not a problem after the interruption.
“It was strange going to bed and not being finished. I visualised what I wanted to do, my shot patterns.
“It worked out pretty well.
“I had a good night’s sleep, I was not too stressed and I recovered to get ready for the continuation.”
After saving break points in the first game on Thursday, Tsitsipas triumphed in the final-set tiebreaker
“I’m relieved I was able to save a couple of break points.. I put my game together and made it )victory) happen again.”
The Greek now faces off against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech for a semi-final spot.
“I’m expecting a lot of big serves, the altitude (1050m) helps. I’ll try to build consistency around my own serve.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas was handed a reprieve due to fading light with his second round match at the Swiss Open Gstaad stopped with the Greek deadlocked with local Jerome Kym 6-4, 6-7 (2), 5-5.
The math had to be halted as night fell and electronic linecalling computers could not read the path of the ball on the clay in contrast to humans who could have carried on for a few additional minutes..
The 27-year-old Tsitsipas was taking the worst of it in the concluding stage after a promising start.against a journeyman opponent ranked 186.
Tsitsipas, his ranking down to 85th after once standing third in the world, lashed out verbally in the last few games, apparently frustrated with his racquet reactions.
The Greek was quick to make his point of an overnight stoppage to the chair umpire while Kym – who reached 5-all with a love service hold – left the court with a defiant fist pump for his public in this alpine resort village.
The cutoff came after just over two hours of play, with the contest to be concluded on Thursday. The winner reaches the Friday quarter-finals.
Tsitsipas produced his last notable result in April with a fourth-round showing at the Madrid Masters,
He is aiming for his second quarter-final of the season after Doha in February and his 2025 Barcelona 15 months ago.
Tsitsipas stands 10-1 vs. players ranked outside the top 100 this season with a sole loss to No. 104 Italian Matteo Arnaldi at the Roland Garros second round.
History repeats for Argentine spoiler in Gstaad
Ruud survives a scare to secure Gstaad quarters
Tsitsipas finishes off Kym after overnight pause
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