There are just three days remaining of Wimbledon but Friday’s men’s semi-final day is one to mark on the calendar, with two blockbuster matches taking place. Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Lorenzo Musetti are all vying for a place in Sunday’s final.
Djokovic could tee up a repeat of last year’s final, where he lost in an all-time classic five-setter to Alcaraz. The Serbian star takes on Musetti, who is competing in his first Grand Slam semi-final, after Djokovic was given a walkover to the final four due to Alex De Minaur’s injury.
Medvedev sent out the top seed Jannik Sinner and will also hope to topple the defending champion in the day’s first match on Centre Court.
The Russian is facing a repeat of last year’s semi-final against Alcaraz, where he was denied, but revenge will be an almighty motivator alongside the prize of a place in the final against either Djokovic or Musetti.
Djokovic has not played a match since he hit back at the crowd for supposedly jeering him during a straight-sets win over Holger Rune and it remains to be seen how fans will react, having booed his name during Musetti’s on-court interview.
Friday order of play
Centre Court – 1.30pm
(5) Daniil Medvedev vs (3) Carlos Alcaraz
(25) Lorenzo Musetti v (2) Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic snubbed by own family
Novak Djokovic opened up on how his daughter Tara snubbed watching his match against Alexei Popyrin to read a book about unicorns instead.
The six-year-old was in attendance for the match on Centre Court, but could be seen reading rather than taking in the action.
“I love unicorns, of course! I was very happy when I saw that. And sad at the same time because my tennis doesn’t make her excited so much, so she needs to grab a book to entertain herself,” Djokovic told Tennis Channel.
“But no, it’s incredible to have them with me and to see them grow. And to get them to be part of this journey and have them at the age where they understand what’s going on.”
Finalists wants two rule changes
Barbora Krejcikova reached her first Wimbledon final yesterday by defeating 2022 champion Elena Rybakina, but in her downtime responded to fans on social media who had questions for the star.
During rain delays, Krejcikova did a Q&A only for one supporter to ask her what rules she would like to change in tennis.
And the Czech star pushed for alterations to the shot clock and grunting.
“More time for serve than 25 seconds,” she replied. “And tbh I am not a fan of grunting, especially when it’s inconsistent, meaning when your opponent start to grunt or grunts louder during key points, it can be disturbing. Idk if it makes sense.”
