The Wimbledon men’s semifinalists are all among the top eight seeds for the first time since 2012 thanks to Sinner, Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Medvedev’s advancement to the final four.
Going into Friday’s semi-finals, Novak Djokovic thinks his impressive Wimbledon track record guarantees that he will continue to be the favorite to win the men’s singles championship.
At 13:30 BST, Djokovic takes against Italian Jannik Sinner, the eighth seed, in an attempt to tie his record of eight victories for men.
The second semi-final immediately following has Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev taking on Spanish top seed Carlos Alcaraz.
Second seed Djokovic remarked, “I don’t want to sound cocky, but of course, I would consider myself favorite.”
The Serb is aiming for a fifth straight triumph at the All England Club, which would also tie him for the most major titles ever with Margaret Court’s total of 24.
I do consider myself the favorite, based on my performance here and my past four Wimbledon victories, he continued.
The statistics make the disparity in experience between Djokovic and Sinner very clear.
By defeating the Russian Roman Safiullin, Sinner, 21, advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal, while Djokovic will play in his 46th major semifinal, tying Roger Federer’s record for most semifinal appearances by a player.
A 35th Grand Slam singles final would be a record-breaking accomplishment for Djokovic and would put him above of American Chris Evert.
After Ken Rosewall, 39, and Roger Federer, 37, Djokovic, who turned 36 in May, is attempting to become the third oldest player in Open history to make it to the men’s singles final.
Sinner might beat 20-year-old Alcaraz’s record for the youngest man to reach the Wimbledon final since 2007 in the future.
He’s a really well-rounded player, according to Djokovic.
“I’m eager to take on that challenge. He’ll be very, very motivated to win, I’m certain of it. In contrast, I am as well.
Additionally, the match is a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal, in which Sinner came within two sets of defeating Djokovic before the veteran rallied to win.
Sinner, who is only competing in the Wimbledon main draw for the third time, said, “It’s going to be a completely different match than last year.”
He is more familiar with me than I am with him. It will also include some tactical elements.
“It will also be a little bit mentally taxing in the other direction. Playing against Novak is never easy, especially during Grand Slams.
“But I’m content. I’ll contend for every ball. While I will relish the moment, I will also be striving to outperform him.
Alcaraz is eager to take on Medvedev, the “octopus”
There will still be a first-time Wimbledon finalist, either Alcaraz or Medvedev, even if Djokovic defeats Sinner.
The two have already won major championships on the hard courts of the US Open, but following a summer of notable progress at the All-England Club, they will try to reach their first Wimbledon final.
Prior to this summer, Alcaraz had only participated in two senior events on the surface, but he displayed his promise by capturing the Queen’s title and kept up the momentum this weekend.
Alcaraz described reaching the Wimbledon semifinals as a “dream” after defeating fellow 20-year-old Holger Rune.
The top-ranked player in the world is aware that Medvedev, a “really complete player,” will put him to the test.
He’s an octopus, I think [Andrey] Rublev mentioned a couple times. Each ball is caught by him. It is incredible. He’s a fantastic athlete, Alcaraz stated.
“I believe that everything. He is good at practically everything.
Medvedev, a former world number one, had minimal experience at Wimbledon prior to this year and had never advanced past the round of 16.
The 27-year-old has had the most success on hard courts, particularly when he won his first major championship at the US Open in 2021.
Due to the fact that grass courts have been his least successful surface recently, Medvedev stated before the tournament that he was hoped to turn things around.
Last year, the Russian was unable to compete at Wimbledon because athletes from his country were barred as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.
“I’ve always stated I want to play and be here. It was my poorest Grand Slam, so I wanted to do well at Wimbledon, which is a fantastic tournament, he remarked.
“I could never get into the swing of things here. I was extremely driven this year because of this.
