Carlos Alcaraz overcomes nerves, Daniil Medvedev to return to Wimbledon final

July 12 (UPI) -- Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz used his unmatched quickness and breathtaking shot-making ability to tame nerves and beat Daniil Medvedev for the second consecutive year in the Wimbledon semifinals Friday in London.

The Spaniard started slow, but later nearly set the grass blades ablaze on Center Court during his 6(1)-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory. He will meet No. 2 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who later defeated No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-4, 7-6, 6-4, in the men's singles finale Sunday at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

The men's final will air at 9 a.m. EDT on ESPN.

Alcaraz, ranked No. 3, beat Djokovic in the 2023 finale to capture his first Wimbledon title. He has won 19 of his last 20 matches on grass, including last year's title run.

"I feel like I'm not new anymore," Alcaraz said on the ESPN broadcast. "I know how I'm going to feel for the final. I've been in this position before. I will try to do the things i did well last year."

Alcaraz totaled six aces and logged 55 winners in Friday's 2-hour, 55-minute match. He also converted 6 of 15 break points against Medvedev. The Russian was broken just eight times through his first five matches in the tournament.

Medvedev, ranked No. 5, registered five aces and 31 winners. He converted all three of his break point chances, but two of those occurred in the first set.

"I'm really happy with my performance today," Alcaraz said. "I started really nervous. I think he was dominating the match and playing great tennis with his serve and 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."

The women's singles final between No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy and No. 32 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic will air at 9 a.m. Saturday on ESPN.

The winners of the singles circuits will receive $3.4 million apiece.