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The day before the final, Juan Carlos Ferrero’s words hold nothing but praise for Carlos Alcaraz, who will take on Novak Djokovic in the title bout at Wimbledon for the second consecutive year.

“We’re very happy,” admitted Ferrero before making his way to a training session with the 21-year-old. “I think Carlos’ performances have improved throughout the tournament. His confidence, above all, has kept building until reaching the final. But what he’s doing, having won the title at Roland Garros, flipping the switch to prepare in this way and reach the final, is scandalous. The level Carlos is producing, above all mentally, handling the pressure everyone puts on him without meaning to... it really is a 10 out of 10 for him.

“He’s surprising everyone. I think we’re very clear about his level, but generating it every week... People should know that’s tremendously difficult to do. That’s why there’s so much admiration for Rafa [Nadal], Novak [Djokovic] and Roger [Federer], who did it for so many years. Carlos is walking in their footsteps and that’s surprising even for the team.”

Many things about Alcaraz are surprising, among others, his precocity, his maturity, his records, his three Grand Slam titles, and his ability to adapt so well to a difficult surface like grass.

“It’s a surface you only play on for three weeks a year, and one that almost everyone struggles to adapt to, mainly because of the mobility you need on court,” explained Ferrero. “Because of his style of tennis, we saw when Carlos came to play the junior tournament that he would be able to adapt very well in the coming years, and really that’s what he’s doing. Once he’s really feeling good about moving well on court, his game is a perfect fit for the surface.”

It’s Friday afternoon, Wimbledon’s Centre Court is saying goodbye to Carlos Alcaraz with an ebullient standing ovation. But they will only have to wait until Sunday, when he will cross swords with Novak Djokovic for the title, to see him again. As he makes his way to the locker room, the 21-year-old leaves behind him all the nerves that come with a semi-final clash against Daniil Medvedev, and that normally accompany him when he sets foot on one of the most prestigious stages in world sport.

However, those nerves can be positive if they are channelled in the right direction, and Alcaraz is well aware of that.

“At Roland Garros maybe I didn’t talk about the nerves, although they were obviously there,” explained the Spaniard after seeing off Medvedev in four sets. “Maybe I controlled them a little better at that tournament, except in the final... They affected me a bit there, above all in the first sets.

“Wimbledon, playing on centre court, it makes me a little more nervous because of everything it means; because of the way I see the tournament and the centre court, maybe differently to how I see others,” said Alcaraz of the season’s third Grand Slam. “It’s something we’re working on: obviously nerves are very good and very necessary if they are under control, but when you lose control of them a bit, or you don’t know how to manage them, they work against you. Today, maybe in the first set I struggled a bit, even though I played good tennis and played well. Maybe that’s what I was lacking to be able to win it: handling the nerves a little better, which I did much better in the other three sets.”

Wimbledon is a special tournament, there is no doubt, and Alcaraz is clearly besotted with an event he has played in four times, reaching the final on two of those occasions (2023 and 2024).

Nadal vs. Borg sounds like a fantasy matchup between two clay-court giants who have combined to win 20 Roland Garros titles. And Nadal will face Borg in Bastad at the Nordea Open.

But it will be Rafael Nadal taking on Leo Borg, the 21-year-old son of former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Bjorn Borg. The pair of wild cards trained together on Friday ahead of the ATP 250 event.

“It was crazy because we were looking when they did the draw and my name just popped up against Rafa,” Borg said. “I’m feeling very excited and it’s going to be a great match.”

Borg explained that Nadal is one of the reasons he picked up a tennis racquet when he was a kid. Now he is looking forward to competing against the 92-time tour-level titlist.

“It was a very good practice and of course he’s been my idol since I was very young, so it’s going to be a very special moment in my career,” Borg said. “But I’m looking forward to that and I’m feeling really, really excited.”

Although Wimbledon is approaching its end, the action never stops on the ATP Tour. Next week there will be four tournaments, including an ATP 500 (Hamburg Open) and three ATP 250 events (Nordea Open, EFG Swiss Open Gstaad and Infosys Hall of Fame Open).

There will be plenty of stars in action, including Rafael Nadal, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Who could be good choices for your team in the PIF ATP Rankings Predictor? ATPTour.com takes a look at three players to consider.

Make Your Picks Now!

Rafael Nadal — defending 0 points
If Nadal enters any tournament without points to defend, he will always be a good player to select. The Spaniard has won 82.7 per cent of his career tour-level matches according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index and will try to improve his record this week in Bastad.

In one of the most anticipated matches of the year, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will meet in the Wimbledon final in London at 2 p.m. BST on Sunday on Centre Court in a repeat of last year's title match.

The Serbian lost to the Spaniard in five sets last year at The Championships but leads the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series 3-2.

Read more ahead of the 2024 final
Wimbledon final preview: Djokovic seeks Alcaraz revenge in blockbuster rematch
Djokovic v Alcaraz: The Rivalry
Alcaraz set to lead Spanish sporting super Sunday… Just don’t tell the SW19 fans!
Djokovic on Alcaraz: 'I see a lot of similarities between us'

For more information on how to watch the final, click here.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will meet once again in a blockbuster Wimbledon championship match on Sunday in a repeat of last year’s final.

Twelve months ago, the Spaniard Alcaraz lit up Centre Court where he earned a thrilling five-set victory against the Serbian to clinch his first Wimbledon title and end Djokovic’s run of dominance in west London. With his four-hour, 42-minute win, the 21-year-old became just the fourth active male player to lift the trophy at SW19 after Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Djokovic, who won four consecutive titles at the grass-court major from 2018-2022.

By advancing to the championship match again in 2024, Alcaraz has become just the fourth man in the Open Era to reach multiple Wimbledon finals aged 21 and under. The Spaniard has never lost a Grand Slam final (3-0) and last month at Roland Garros he became the youngest player in the Open Era to win a major on all three surfaces.

If the third seed overcomes Djokovic on Centre Court on Sunday afternoon, he will become just the sixth man to achieve the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, joining Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic.

“Winning Grand Slams is difficult. Obviously changing from clay to a grass court, totally different surfaces, totally different game of play," Alcaraz said earlier this fortnight when asked about his opportunity to complete the clay-grass double. "Let's say I'm going to try. Obviously I want to put my name on that short list to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. I know that's going to be a really difficult and big challenge for me, but I think I'm ready to do it."

Novak Djokovic will aim to gain revenge when he meets Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday in a rematch of the 2023 Wimbledon final.

The Serbian, who defeated Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets in the semi-finals on Friday, admits that he sees a lot himself in the 21-year-old Spaniard, who beat the World No. 2 in five sets in last year’s final.

“He surprised I think all of us last year the way he played in Queen's and Wimbledon, which he won back-to-back,” Djokovic said on Alcaraz. “You would think that for someone growing up in Spain, as he did, the way he's playing, clay court, Grand Slam wins, which happened this year at Roland Garros, and US Open a few years ago was maybe not as surprising as Wimbledon. But the way he has moved, played the past couple of years on grass has been terrific to watch.

“I see a lot of similarities between me and him in terms of ability to adapt and adjust to the surface. I think that's probably his biggest trait, is that he's got skills to play equally well on any surface and to adapt to a given opponent that particular day.”

When Djokovic steps onto court on Sunday he will be aiming to clinch a record-equalling eighth crown at The Championships, drawing level with Roger Federer.

Novak Djokovic moved to within one win of capturing a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title on Friday when he ended Lorenzo Musetti’s run. The Serbian earned a 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-4 win against the 22-year-old Italian to set a blockbuster rematch of last year’s final with Carlos Alcaraz.

In a hard-fought clash, Djokovic locked in at crucial moments, repelling Musetti’s court craft with impressive defence and consistency. The Italian fended off three match points from 0/40, 3-5 in the third set before Djokovic saved one break point to serve out and reach his 10th Wimbledon final after two hours and 48 minutes.

"There was plenty of doubt," Djokovic said about his chances of playing and competing at Wimbledon after undergoing knee surgery in June. "Coming to London about eight days before the tournament started I didn't know whether I would play the tournament or not. I was keeping everything open until the day of the draw. I played a couple of practise sets with top players and an exhibition match which proved to me I was in a good enough state to be not just part of Wimbledon but to go deep.

"I said before the tournament that if I didn't think I had a chance of going deep in the tournament I probably wouldn't be playing. The mentality is there, it is ever present and I am just very pleased and thankful to all the team members for helping me."

If the 37-year-old Serbian wins a record-extending 25th major on Sunday, he will become the oldest champion in tournament history. Standing in his way is Alcaraz, who beat Djokovic in a five-set thriller in last year’s final to win Wimbledon for the first time.

Daniil Medvedev is one of the best problem solvers on the ATP Tour, freely moving from plan A to plan B and frustrating opponents with his extensive repertoire. But the 28-year-old met an all-too-familiar roadblock Friday at Wimbledon, where he fell in the semi-finals for the second straight year to Carlos Alcaraz.

“Probably in my career he's the toughest opponent I have faced,” Medvedev said of Alcaraz in his post-match press conference. “But I have time, I have time to try to do better. The match against Carlos was much closer than last year. Last year, I went out from the match and I was like, ‘Wow, that was a semi-final, one hour, 30 [minutes] or something like this.’ Very fast. He crushed me off the court," he added about last year's 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 defeat. "Today, I felt like that was not the case.”

Medvedev is drawing on positives from his two weeks at the All England Club, having earned a five-set quarter-final victory against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Even in Medvedev’s loss to Alcaraz, who won 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, the fifth seed showed flashes of his best level, pushing the Spaniard for two hours, 55 minutes.

“I felt like I was much closer [than last year], was just a little bit worse in some important points, important moments. I feel like the plan itself, I was playing well and just it was not enough anyway," said Medvedev, fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. "Tough, tough match. Carlos plays well. I feel like the plan I came up with was working not so bad."

Alcaraz leads Medvedev 5-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, with three of those meetings coming at SW19. Medvedev won the pair’s first encounter at Wimbledon in 2021, but has since lost five of their past six matches. His second win against the three-time major champion came at last year’s US Open in the semi-final round.

It was tight, but Carlos Alcaraz just about kept the Centre Court crowd onside during his post-match interview on Friday at Wimbledon.

After defeating Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals, Alcaraz discussed his upcoming second straight Wimbledon final appearance with on-court interviewer Annabelle Croft. Unprompted, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings dropped in a reference to another highly anticipated sporting event set for Sunday: The Euro 2024 final between his home country Spain and Wimbledon host nation England.

“It’s going to be a really good day for Spanish people, with the Euro cup as well,” said Alcaraz, who was forced to quickly clarify his comments as the home crowd immediately delivered some light-hearted boos. “I didn’t say Spain is going to win! I just said it is going to be a really fun day.”

A keen football fan, Alcaraz was cheered on by a legend of the sport on Friday as he recovered from a difficult opening set to improve his Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Medvedev to 5-2. Real Madrid star Luka Modric, who captained Croatia at Euro 2024, watched the semi-final from Alcaraz’s player box.

"Luka is a really nice person. We've met a couple of times," revealed Alcaraz in his post-match press conference. "We spoke a few times and he wanted to come, and for sure I admire him. There's always going to be a spot for him. Amazing guy, amazing athlete that I admire a lot. It's great to have him in the box supporting."

There is no party like the Braunschweig Challenger party.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this week, the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event goes far beyond tennis, featuring live music and entertainment each night of the Brawo Open. Even before the first ball, three days of concerts kickstart this annual highlight in the north-central region of Germany.

“I think the key for our success of the tournament is a mixture of world-class tennis during the day and world-class entertainment in the evening,” said tournament director Volker Jacke. “Our event is hosted for 10 days. Not only seven days of tennis, we are starting on the first day with three days of party, concerts with bands and artists.”

The tournament, or should we call it the music festival, has been providing a two-part thriller for fans the past three decades. What once started with a single guitarist concluding each day’s action in 1994, the Brawo Open rapidly grew larger, requiring multiple upgrades in its stage setup to accommodate more well-known acts. Performing artists this year include German singer-songwriters Michael Schulte and Max Giesinger as well as the band Culcha Candela.

Fans eagerly gather day after day and night after night, some hitting the exits just before sunrise.

Carlos Alcaraz is on the brink of back-to-back titles on the grass of Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old Spaniard rallied past Daniil Medvedev 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday afternoon to reach the championship match at the London major. Alcaraz kept his cool after struggling to find his best level in the opening set and raised his game, particularly on serve, to seal a two-hour, 55-minute triumph on Centre Court.

“I’m really happy about my performance today,” said Alcaraz in his on-court interview. “I started really nervously. He was dominating the match, playing great tennis with his serve and his return game.

“It was difficult for me but I tried to push out the nerves at the beginning of the second set. It was really helpful to be up 3-1 and after that I could play my own game and enjoy the match a little bit more. I tried to hit great shots, I moved well, so in general I think I played a pretty good match.”

BACK IN THE FINAL ?@carlosalcaraz moves to the brink of back-to-back Wimbledon titles after defeating Medvedev in 4 sets ?@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/xORyOkg0yX

Picture the scene: a tennis coach in the player’s box, hiding behind his sunglasses, intently observing every point. The player on court tries to catch the eye of his coach, seeking some much-needed support during the toughest moments of battle.

In a sport that demands such mental strength and endurance, a solid connection with the team is like having an extra shot in your repertoire. A sturdy bond and trust in the team can help players deal with their emotions at the biggest tournaments on Tour.

Now imagine that coach has been providing the player with that support since he was a child. Watching him grow, helping him mature, and helping him build his dreams as he makes his way to the pinnacle of the sport. Adolfo Gutierrez is exactly that to Australian Alex de Minaur, the World No. 6 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

The Spanish coach, recognised as June’s ATP Spotlight Coach of the Month, has made loyalty and mutual trust the key to converting a young boy into one of the biggest stars in professional tennis.

“Since I met him, when he came to the club at eight or nine, it’s been a long journey alongside a boy who loved tennis,” remembers Gutierrez, who welcomed De Minaur to a club in Alicante, when the Aussie could barely see over the net. “Above all, he loved competing. If I had to define it in some way, let’s say he had an amazing journey, where the dreams we had always imagined have come true. That ‘imagine if one day we play...’ has become a reality and much more.”

Here are some of the best American tennis players, both male and female, who have left a significant impact on the sport: Male Players1. Pete SamprasGrand Slam Titles: 14Wimbledon: 7 titlesUS Open: 5 titlesAustralian Open: 2 titlesCareer Highlights: Known for his powerful serve and volley game, Sampras was ranked world No. 1 for a record 286 weeks ...

Rafael Nadal fist pumps, roars and injects his familiar intensity into every shot as if it were his last. Rinse, repeat. The scene sums up the past few days for the 22-time major champion, training at full throttle in Sani, on the shores of the Aegean Sea.

After bowing out in the Roland Garros opening round, the former World No. 1 had a clear plan. He would skip Wimbledon to avoid a change of surface that would have been physically demanding and rather, try to find his A-game on clay, before returning to action at the ATP 250 in Bastad and then heading to the Paris Olympic Games.

Following a few days at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in his native Mallorca, Nadal felt in need of more hours on court, for which he invited Argentinian player Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the current No. 31 in the PIF ATP Rankings, and a Top 5 player in clay-court wins this season (19). Where? At the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre in Greece, which opened in 2019. Nadal took his entire team to the resort, where he is working under the watchful eye of Carlos Moya.

“The place we’re practising in is crazy... and Nadal is going at it, I’d say he’s playing very well,” the Argentine told ATPTour.com. What was it like for the La Plata native to spend a few days with the 92-time tour-level titlist? “I’ve had the chance to ask him things, ask for advice, and he was always very humble, helping, making progress, and he had a lot of time for everyone,” said Etcheverry.

“These days have been a dream for me, a really amazing experience, above all spending time with Rafa, a player I’ve been watching since I started to play tennis, one of the best in history, so it was crazy. It was a privilege and an honour,” enthused Etcheverry, who was there with his team, coach Wally Grinovero and fitness coach Martiniano Orazi.

Can Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten’s red-hot start to their partnership carry them to a Grand Slam title?

The unseeded Finnish-British pair defeated Neal Skupski and Michael Venus 6-4, 7-6(1) on Thursday afternoon to reach the championship match at Wimbledon. Heliovaara and Patten produced a stunning serving performance on No. 1 Court, where they won 95 per cent (36/38) of points behind first serves en route to an 84-minute win.

Since first teaming in April in Marrakech, Heliovaara and Patten have won 28 of the 32 matches they have contested together across all levels. That tally includes ATP Tour title runs in Marrakech and Lyon, and two ATP Challenger Tour titles. After reaching the final at Wimbledon, the pair is up 11 spots to eighth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

On their Grand Slam team debut earlier this year, Heliovaara and Patten reached the third round at Roland Garros before being forced to withdraw after the Finn suffered a shoulder injury. They have put that disappointment behind them superbly at the All England Club, where they have dropped just one set across five matches so far.

Awaiting Heliovaara and Patten in Saturday’s final will be 15th seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, who upset top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-4.

There are some striking similarities to last year in the semi-final lineup at Wimbledon 2024. Carlos Alcaraz will hope the last-four results follow suit.

The third seed and defending champion at the grass-court major takes on Daniil Medvedev on Friday in a repeat of the pair’s 2023 semi-final. Alcaraz dropped just nine games en route to victory against Medvedev last year but remains wary of an opponent who will take to court fresh from defeating World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals.

“[Medvedev] is a really great player,” said Alcaraz after his fourth-round triumph against Tommy Paul. “The same semi-final as last year and hopefully I’m going to get the same result. He just beat Jannik Sinner, the best player right now, so I know he is in really good shape.

“I have to play my best. I have to believe in myself and try to keep going if I want to beat him. It is going to be a difficult one, but I’m going to enjoy it.”

Medvedev partly avenged his heavy defeat at Wimbledon a year ago by winning his only Grand Slam meeting with Alcaraz since. He prevailed against the Spaniard in four sets last September at the US Open, and he has clearly identified the key to securing another major victory against his Top 5 rival.

After nearly two decades, Rafael Nadal is back in Bastad. The Spaniard on Thursday enjoyed his first practice at the Nordea Open, where he will compete next week as a wild card at the ATP 250.

The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings greeted fans and hit with home #NextGenATP talent Ludvig Fredrik Hede in Sweden. Nadal is a former champion in Bastad, where he triumphed on his most recent appearance in 2005.

✍️ You get an autograph, you get an autograph, everybody gets an autograph? pic.twitter.com/hMZq4JWXPY

The 38-year-old Nadal, who has stated that 2024 may be the final season of his career, will be playing his first competitive match since his first-round Roland Garros defeat to Alexander Zverev on 27 May. He is 7-5 for the season so far, with his best result a fourth-round run on home soil in Madrid.

World No. 6 Andrey Rublev will compete as top seed and defending champion in Bastad. World No. 8 Casper Ruud, Cameron Norrie and Tallon Griekspoor also feature in the field.

“Despite being 21 years old, he listens and tries to learn."

These are the words of Juan Carlos Ferrero on Carlos Alcaraz as the three-time major champion prepares for his clash with Daniil Medvedev in his second straight Wimbledon semi-final and his sixth in a major. Ferrero, who has coached the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings for a number of years, is in no doubt about what those numbers mean and he is asking for prudence as Alcaraz bids to defend his Wimbledon title.

“They are very significant stats, but you have to take it day by day, this isn’t a given,” warned Ferrero. “Then we have to go to the US Open and do everything again to try and reach these kinds of rounds. The most important thing is that he has a very, very high natural level and really in five-set matches his opponents have to play very well to beat him if he’s at a normal level.

“He’s feeling very good. He’s grown into it against tough players. [Frances] Tiafoe and [Tommy] Paul are difficult. He feels good and he’s managed to solve the problems that he’s faced, but now we’re very focused on the match with Medvedev, not thinking about the title.

‘We can’t think much beyond Friday because that would be a mistake. Medvedev has earned the respect of all the players. So we’re approaching it with the utmost concern.”

The Italian title charge is alive and kicking at Wimbledon.

Lorenzo Musetti delivered arguably the Grand Slam performance of his career so far on Wednesday to outlast Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6. 6-1 at the grass-court major. In doing so, the 22-year-old became just the fourth Italian men’s singles semi-finalist in event history.

Even after World No. 1 Jannik Sinner fell to Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday, Musetti gave an immediate reminder of the strength-in-depth of Italian tennis with a classy and composed display in his maiden major quarter-final. The 25th seed deployed his slice backhand to great effect to outfox an elite grass-court opponent and set a last-four meeting with Novak Djokovic.

"I don't think I've realised yet what I have done," Musetti said in his on-court interview. "I was talking with my team about how to play on the big stage... It was the first time I've had the opportunity to walk out on this amazing stadium and it's been an honour for me.

"At the start of the match Taylor was really leading the game, especially with his serve and I couldn’t return well. In the second set I had a big reaction after breaking at the start and that changed my mind, my attitude. That probably made the difference and hopefully on Friday I will have the same one."