Up above, there was the relentless lashing of rain, beating onto the Centre Court roof. Across the net, there was the consistent “Uh-Hoh!” of Carlos Alcaraz, soundtracking his own shots. All the while, Daniil Medvedev was silent.
He was silent when Alcaraz held serve to love in the very first game. He was silent when Alcaraz let his drop shot off the leash, beating the Russian three times in one game with that signature weapon. He was silent when the Spaniard broke and then held serve to win the first set, and he was silent as the crowd laughed along in disbelief at the stupefying feats before them.
Medvedev did not want to get caught up in any of the noise around him, and he certainly did not want to get caught up in the noise of the narrative that Alcaraz was always destined for a final showdown with Novak Djokovic. For two weeks, the world No 3 has quietly gone about the task at hand, with the chatter around his quarter-final focused entirely on Christopher Eubanks, the American underdog whom Medvedev saw off in five sets.
Medvedev’s mind, however, must have been getting so incredibly loud on Friday. Because, much as you may try to quell the intensity, Alcaraz is intensity personified – as relentless as the rain above. Much as you may try to play the game at your own speed, this Tasmanian Devil of a tennis player will sweep you up and drag you along at his pace – one that few can match, and one that Medvedev certainly could not on Friday evening.
At times, the 20-year-old can outrun his own feet, and stumble in a sense. It looked like it might happen when he double-faulted early in the second set, to hand Medvedev a break point and a chance at a 2-0 lead, only for Alcaraz to deny the 27-year-old the opportunity by striking an ace. To his opponents, Alcaraz must bring chaos, yet he so often seems in control.
Medvedev, like Alcaraz, has held the No 1 ranking and is a US Open champion, though the latter of course achieved both of those accolades at a younger age, and without the setbacks that Medvedev had to first overcome. On Friday night, however, as each player took part in his first semi-final at this storied tournament, there appeared few similarities between them.
A deflated Medvedev during his straight-sets loss to Alcaraz— (Getty Images)
Alcaraz this week echoed Andrey Rublev’s suggestion that Medvedev is an “octopus” on court, but the mollusc choked on the filtered SW19 air here, as he was reduced to a shell of himself.
At times, those tentacles would lash out – a menacing winner up the line here, a writhing passing shot there – but too often Alcaraz had those limbs wrangled. In one miraculous moment at 1-1 in the second set, the Spaniard somehow held firm as Medvedev thwacked ball after ball at him, eventually beating the Russian with a volley to gain break point.
He would soon convert and pull into a 3-1 lead, and as the rain ceased at last, finally there was a muttering from Medvedev to break the silence, as he tried to coach himself out of this perilous pattern.
It was a useful reminder that Medvedev was actually here, yet it did little good. Soon, the world No 3 was skewering a smash wide, after valiant defence from Alcaraz but with the whole court to aim for. When Alcaraz bulleted a forehand into the corner and followed it up by dancing into a near-taunting sliced winner, gaining three set points on Medvedev’s serve, again the crowd was torn between applause and laughter.
The rain had ceased, but Alcaraz had not. And then the rain returned.
Alcaraz, closing in on victory, attempts a volleyed tweener— (Getty Images)
Finally the noise turned to support for Medvedev, who had been a silent observer of this semi-final, after he double-faulted to give Alcaraz break points early in the third set. Alcaraz converted, but then it was Medvedev’s turn to earn a trio of break points and keep himself in the match.
Three more breaks ensued, with more stunning moments from Alcaraz littered among those games, including an attempted volley between his legs. Cue more laughter. Even his slices were razor close to the net, drawing sighs of disbelief from the crowd.
In any case, that brief period of something resembling parity soon came to an end, as Alcaraz served out a 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory. Perhaps his most marvellous moment was saved for the last point, as he swerved a forehand past an onrushing Medvedev and found the corner of the court. Ha…
In doing so, Alcaraz set up the fans’ choice of final, against the other man to have stunned audiences again and again this fortnight: Novak Djokovic, the king of Centre Court.
“It will be really difficult, but I will fight. I will fight,” the Spaniard insisted to an enraptured crowd. “It’s not time to be afraid, it’s not time to be tired.”
While Alcaraz prepares for that showdown, Medvedev may seek a quiet space to reflect on this result – this procession. Yet even there, he may hear the noise. The rain. The “Uh-Hoh!” The laughter.
