By Toby Davis
LONDON (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will contest the Wimbledon final that everyone wanted to see but Daniil Medvedev will not be tuning in on Sunday after his hopes of lifting the trophy were dashed.
Medvedev was swept aside in brutal fashion by world number one Alcaraz, who romped into the final with a 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory under the Centre Court roof on Friday.
The result teed up the most eagerly anticipated of match-ups, with young pretender Alcaraz, already a Grand Slam champion at 20, playing the most decorated men’s player ever, Novak Djokovic, who is hunting for a record-equalling eighth men’s title.
“It’s a very great match. I’m not going to lie, it’s a very great match to watch but I’m not going to watch it because I’m going to be too disappointed to not be there,” Medvedev told reporters.
“I lost. I don’t deserve to be there in the final because I didn’t win today.
“But if I watch it on TV, I’m probably going to digest my loss worse because I’m going to be like, ‘My God, this forehand, this double-fault, this return, I should have done better’. Let’s say Novak wins, ‘I should have done like Novak. Why didn’t I do it?’ Too many questions.
“I am going to follow live score probably. I’m going to be interested in the live score, but I’m not going to watch it. Maybe we’ll see the highlights or something in the news or something like this.”
After being thoroughly outplayed by Alcaraz, Medvedev placed the Spaniard in lofty company, comparing him to the game’s old ‘Big Three’ of Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, winners of 65 Grand Slam titles between them.
“He’s a very strong player. I would say in general to compare like the Big Three, they’re amazing, they win so many Grand Slams, they win so many matches. He’s kind of like them,” Medvedev said.
“He’s still 20. Already has one Grand Slam. Playing great. Been number one for many, many weeks.
“Maybe against other guys you can be playing not bad, you’re going to have your chances, during the match you’re going to find something to work with. With Carlos, you need to be at your absolute best and that’s how you can win. Unfortunately, I was not.”
(Reporting by Toby Davis; Editing by Ken Ferris)
