Successful sporting careers depend on three things — talent, hard work and luck. That Carlos Alcaraz had plenty of the first was never in doubt. No one who doesn’t work hard wins three Majors in a jiffy. And these last 10 days at Wimbledon have shown that he has some luck on his side too.
On Friday at the Centre Court, the 21-year-old weathered a first-set storm from Daniil Medvedev, wobbled like he had all tournament before hitting a purple patch to win 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and enter his second straight Wimbledon final.
“I feel like I am not new anymore,” the defending champion said when asked about being in the final. “I know how I’ll feel before it and I will try to do the things I did last year. I hope it’s going to be a good day for Spanish people.”
That last sentence was in reference to Sunday’s Euro final between Spain and England, and the Brits at the stadium duly rang in the boos. Alcaraz tried to over explain but the truth was that he had already done enough to please the crowd with his tennis for a good part of the previous three hours.
The opening set was topsy-turvy, with Medvedev and Alcaraz breaking each other twice. Alcaraz’s penchant to play first-strike tennis did not always come off and his love affair with the drop shot had tragic endings. But what kept him in the set was his excellent return game as he blocked or sliced many a monstrous serve from Medvedev back.
The Russian harmed his chances with some ill-advised approaches and rank-bad volleying, often holding the racquet like an axe. He also got away with a mild reprimand, a warning for “unsportsmanlike conduct” for seemingly swearing at the lady chair umpire.
In the tie-break, however, Medvedev’s level lifted. The serve placement was better and his shot-making smarter as he raced to a 6-1 lead. A 120mph rocket second serve sealed the set in his favour.
In the second, Medvedev’s serve swayed. From 76%, his first-serve percentage dropped to 56. At 2-1, Alcaraz made the play, reeling off three winners, two on the forehand and one on the backhand, to break Medvedev. It was one-set all not long after.
“I just tried to do different things,” Alcaraz said. “Not to play long rallies, try drop shots and go often to the net. It was basically to try and not play his game.”
The third set was the best representation of this. The service that had deserted him returned and the hyper-extended forehand — almost Federeresque in full flight — found the right corners of the court. Alcaraz being Alcaraz didn’t dilute his fondness for the theatre by continuing to drop shot but this time had a fair amount of success.
The duo traded early breaks in the fourth. Alcaraz, though, seldom looked in trouble. He broke Medvedev in the seventh game, and held to 5-3 with a shoelace volley that would have made the greatest grass-courters proud. Medvedev’s shoulders dropped and he soon trudged off the court a deflated man.
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