We have our Wimbledon semi-finals all sewn up on both the men’s and women’s sides, and there is unsurprisingly one outstanding clash.
After all, Novak Djokovic will be expected to overcome Lorenzo Musetti with relative ease, similar to Elena Rybakina’s match against Barbora Krejčíková, whilst Jasmine Paolini against Donna Vekic is a little harder to call.
But, based on rankings and just general form, Carlos Alcaraz’s showdown with Daniil Medvedev, the sixth meeting of their respective careers, stands out.
With the Spaniard seeking to defend his Wimbledon title, but the Russian having just dumped out the world number one, it is so hard to call.
Jim Courier gave it his best shot.
Jim Courier makes Wimbledon semi-finals prediction
His assessment of this upcoming clash was a lengthy one, but speaking to Tennis Channel, Courier went brilliantly in-depth on Medvedev in particular.
After all, it is the Russian who needs to neutralise his opponent rather than the other way around.
He claimed: ‘Yeah and I think he will [change things up]. He changed things up at the US Open following the loss at Wimbledon last year, he was able to get him in four sets, but Alcaraz has beaten him twice since then on indoor hard and outdoor hard.
‘What I do like from Medvedev, however, is that I think he has been learning this year about playing more offensive tennis from a court position standpoint. He’s been standing and mixing his return positions.
‘That’s going to be important because last year’s match when we were covering it he got burned so many times by standing deep and the wide serve got him from Alcaraz.
‘I expect him to mix and match a little bit more and try to be a little bit more offensive whilst he’s in the rally.
‘He’s kind of proven to himself at the Australian Open this year when he had no legs in the final that he could play offence and still control the ball and put himself in a good position.
‘He’ll need to do that, because what Alcaraz does to him is completely fluster him with the big power and the drop shots. It just takes Medvedev completely out of sorts. Medvedev has to recognise that and play closer into the baseline, and I think he will.’
Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz promises to be a thriller
Although Alcaraz does lead their head-to-head with four wins to Medvedev’s two, this match will be far closer than many might assume.
After all, the 28-year-old is an intelligent tennis player, and knows how and when to adapt his game depending on the opponent.
He has suffered some crushing losses to his young rival already, particularly at this stage of Wimbledon last year and earlier this year in the Indian Wells final, but has made necessary changes when needed.
This was exhibited in his win over Jannik Sinner, altering his return position to pile pressure on his tired opponent. Andy Roddick has offered a Sinner illness theory following such a tough showing, though.
Whilst he is far more comfortable sitting deep behind the baseline, Alcaraz is too cute and too clever, and will find the right angles to cut him apart if he keeps that up.
So, expect wholesale changes, just as Courier predicts, to make this a tense and closely contested match-up.
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