Will Djokovic play with Alcaraz at Wimbledon finals?

• Is fate conspiring and bringing Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic together at Wimbledon?
• Both players advanced to the quarter-finals
• Alcaraz is looking forward to winning his second Grand Slam

Is fate conspiring and bringing Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic together at Wimbledon?

Both tennis stars qualified for the quarter-finals on Monday. Given their lethal play, there is a high probability they could have yet another superb match at a major Grand Slam.

In advancing to his seventh French Open final, Djokovic overcame Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. The 20-year-old Spanish player could no longer run after two highly strenuous sets as this invited a full-body cramp.

He lost on a clay-court which is his all-time love but it was understandable that all this was due to the cramping.  Nevertheless, Alcaraz sent Italian tennis star Matteo Berrettini home to book a slot in Wimbledon quarterfinals.

ALCARAZ SENT MATTEO BERRETTINI PACKING

Alcaraz came back from a set down to defeat Berrettini on Centre Court, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in three hours and five minutes. He became the first youngest player to advance to the final eight at the All England Club where he will now face off with Dane Holger Rune.

Carlos Alcaraz with Matteo Berrettini. Photo/apostsal.au

The first set was outstanding and Berrettini was flawless from the service line up until Alcaraz broke the Italian’s record of 60 straight service holds and 10 straight break points saved early in the second set. Alcaraz took on from here and he pushed his game to 9-0 on grass in 2023 with four service breaks in the last set out of 16 attempts.

He described this as great success stating that he is yearning for more victory in England because it is something he always longed for. The Spaniard lost in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2022 and all he ever wanted was to advance past this stage.

“I’m hungry for more. It’s something that I really wanted, last year I lost in the fourth round and I really wanted to play the quarter-final here,” Tennis Major reports.

“I came in with that goal this year, to first get into the quarter-final, and now that I got it, I am looking for more – it’s my dream to play a final here, to win this title one day, so I hope to reach that dream this year, but right now it’s great to be in the quarter-finals,” he added.

Alcaraz-Rune face-off is monumental because both players just turned 20 and this is the first Grand Slam quarterfinal hosting 20-year-old players.  Last this happened was in 2009 at the US Open where Marin Cilic lost to Juan Martin del Potro.  The last time Alcaraz and Rune faced off was in Paris in 2022, when Rune won 6-3, 6-6 after Alcaraz retired due to injury.

The duo also met at the ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan in 2021 and Alcaraz won 4-3, 4-2, 4-0.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC THROUGH TO WIMBLEDON QUARTER-FINAL

In booking a date with Alcaraz at Wimbledon finals; Hubert Hurkacz lost to Djokovic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4. His exit gives Djokovic a chance to square it out with world No.7 Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev.

Novak Djokovic Wimbledon. Photo/The Indian Express

For more over ten years, Djokovic hasn’t lost on Centre Court. The Serbian was up by two sets when the match was paused late Monday night due to the local council’s curfew. In two thrilling sets of tennis, the big-serving Pole held one of the best returners to ever play the sport at bay. Both of those matches were decided entirely on serves.

When play resumed on Centre Court today, it was clear that both players were intent on finishing their service games as quickly as possible. In spite of this, Hurkacz finally broke through at 6-5 up, applying enough pressure to Djokovic to force a serve break at a key time and win the third set.

CARLOS ALCARAZ VS NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Alacaraz could test his tennis wit once more with renewed confidence should he beat Rune in the Quarter finals. He could make his second attempt at beating Djokovic and winning his first grass-court Grand Slam.

The Spaniard had prior to the start of Wimbledon said only Nick Kyrgios, can stop Djokovic. The Aussie lost to Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon finals. But, with his victory so far, he feels ready to take on Djokovic once more, on grass which he earlier considered too much of a novice player to win on.