Alcaraz and Djokovic one win from repeat final

LONDON : The Wimbledon men's singles semi-finals take centre stage at the All England Club on Friday.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed, is up against Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in a repeat of their semi-final a year ago.

They will be followed on Centre Court by seven-time champion Novak Djokovic who is taking on Italian Lorenzo Musetti who has reached his first Grand Slam semi-final.

MEDVEDEV AIMING TO AVOID REPEAT AGAINST ALCARAZ

If fifth seed Medvedev is to halt Spaniard Alcaraz's bid to retain the trophy he won last year he had better arrive on Centre Court with a better plan than a year ago.

On that occasion the Russian baseliner was swept aside in ruthless fashion and Alcaraz then went on to claim the title by defeating Djokovic two days later in the final.

Medvedev will take heart from his five-set victory over world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, the Russian's relentless baseline eventually wearing down an opponent who was troubled by illness.

The 28-year-old has won six of his previous eight Grand Slam semi-finals but has only converted one of those progressions into a title - the 2021 U.S. Open.

He avenged his Wimbledon defeat against Alcaraz by beating him in the U.S. Open semi-finals but lost their only meeting this year in the Indian Wells final.

"It's tough to play against him because you know whatever shot you hit, he can hit a winner from there," Medvedev said.

"Carlos can do whatever from any position and that's not easy to play against."

Alcaraz has worked hard to reach the semi-finals. He needed five sets to edge past Frances Tiafoe in the third round, four to beat Ugo Humbert in the next and also trailed by a set before beating American Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals.