Alcaraz eyes a repeat Wimbledon win after defeating Medvedev in semis - ESPN

WIMBLEDON, England — Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beat Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday to return to the Wimbledon final as he seeks his fourth Grand Slam title at age 21.

After a so-so opening set, Alcaraz transformed back into the energetic, attacking, crowd-pleasing force who had been the first teenager to be No. 1 in the ATP rankings and is the youngest man to have won a major trophy on three surfaces: grass, clay and hard courts.

Now the Spaniard is one victory away from joining Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg as the only men in the Open era, which began in 1968, with multiple championships at the All England Club before turning 22.

Alcaraz also triumphed at the US Open in 2022 and the French Open last month.

He is 3-0 in major finals and will go up against 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti on Sunday. That duo is meeting in the second semifinal — the 49th appearance at this stage of a Grand Slam tournament for Djokovic, and the first for Musetti.

A year ago at Wimbledon, Alcaraz eliminated 2021 US Open champion Medvedev in straight sets in the semifinals before defeating Djokovic in five sets in the final.

This time, on a cloudy afternoon at Centre Court, the No. 3-seeded Alcaraz went through some ups and downs against No. 5 Medvedev, a 28-year-old from Russia who was trying to get to the seventh Slam title match of his career.

Medvedev grabbed an early 5-2 lead, then got into trouble with his play and his temper.

Alcaraz broke to get within 5-4 with a drop shot that chair umpire Eva Asderaki ruled — correctly, according to TV replays — bounced twice before Medvedev got his racket on the ball. He appeared to curse afterward, and Asderaki, after climbing down from her seat to