2024 Wimbledon Men's Semi-Final Preview: Alcaraz, Djokovic, Medvedev, and Musetti battle for final spots

Day 12 of Wimbledon will feature the men’s semifinal matches this Friday, July 12, as we determine the two players who will advance to Sunday’s final. Three of the four semifinalists from 2023 are present: Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Daniil Medvedev, with Lorenzo Musetti being the only debutant at this stage.

Our preview looks ahead to the current form of each semifinalist and their rivalries in the upcoming matches. The matches are scheduled to be played on Centre Court starting at 13:30 local time.

The defending champion has not disappointed and has lived up to his pre-tournament favoritism. Alcaraz’s success on grass courts is evident with a remarkable record of 22-3 (88%) and a streak of 12 consecutive wins at Wimbledon.

The third seed faced difficulties against Frances Tiafoe, but ultimately won a 5-sets match in which his rival played some of the best tennis of his life. After that, he had no major issues against Ugo Humbert (16th seed) and Tommy Paul (12th seed), although he dropped a set to each.

A repeat of the French Open semi-final clash against Jannik Sinner was expected, but Russian Daniil Medvedev eliminated the Italian and set up a new encounter with Carlos Alcaraz. The head-to-head record is led by the Spaniard at 4-2, with only one meeting this year, in the final of Indian Wells, where Alcaraz won in straight sets. The Spaniard also won the only time they played at Wimbledon, also in the semi-finals, on his way to the 2023 title.

Despite being world No. 5, Medvedev’s presence in the semi-finals is somewhat surprising given his recent form, having lost prominence in tournaments to Alcaraz, Sinner, and Zverev. This time, he eliminated No. 1 Sinner and once again put his name among the four best in a Grand Slam in his ninth semi-final appearance.

Novak Djokovic arrived at SW19 amid doubts about his level after undergoing knee surgery just three weeks ago. The Serbian had not been faring well on the Tour, without any titles, with some surprising defeats, and the injury during the French Open that forced him to undergo surgery.

However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has once again proven to be a firm contender for any title and seeks to reach the 37th Grand Slam final of his career and the 10th at Wimbledon.

So far, he has not struggled in any match, and his last encounter in the fourth round against Holger Rune was a dominant victory that left him full of confidence. Additionally, in the quarter-finals, he didn’t even have to take the court after Alex De Minaur's forced withdrawal.

Lorenzo Musetti is the surprise of the semi-finals, being the only player outside the top 5 remaining in the competition. In the absence of world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Musetti is representing Italian tennis, with Jasmine Paolini also a finalist in the women’s draw.

The 22-year-old comes off a remarkable five-set victory against Taylor Fritz (No. 12) and will face the 7-time champion Novak Djokovic for the third time this season (0-2) and the seventh time in his career (1-5).  This is Musetti’s first appearance in a Grand Slam semi-final, achieved in the midst of a successful grass-court swing (12-2), which also saw him reach the final of the ATP 500 Queen’s Club Championships.