Carlos Alcaraz overcomes sluggish start to dispatch Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon

Let's be clear, Carlos Alcaraz is simply a higher-end player than Daniil Medvedev. The Russian is in a weird purgatory where he is able to beat most players because he is a metronome and does almost everything well, but few things great. What he lacks is a true knock-out shot and he needs that against a player such as the Spaniard.

The Russian also cannot chase down balls that few would get to and then find a return shot that is beyond the abilities of most any other human ever. That is not hyperbole; that is Carlos Alcaraz. Only 21 years old, he has proven he can win on any surface and might be on the verge of winning Wimbledon for the second straight year.

His semifinal Wimbledon match against Medvedev was made a bit longer than it should have been because the Spaniard struggled mightily with his first serve in the first set, landing it only 36 percent of the time. This led to a couple of breaks of service and Medvedev stealing the set 7-5. Still, even as relatively poor - compared to his normal form - as Alcaraz was playing, the Russian was having issues closing out the set.

Carlos Alcaraz defeats Daniil Medvedev in Wimbledon semifinals

In between sets, Alcaraz must have thought to himself, "I shouldn't be behind; I just need to clean up my serve." He also, to be fair, was a bit wild with his forehand, but he didn't seem nervous. He just wasn't playing to his normal greatness.

This changed immediately in the second set when the Spaniard got an early break of Medvedev and went on to take the set 6-3. Even after losing the first set, Alcaraz did not seem in real danger of losing the match. After all, Wimbledon is a Grand Slam and Medvedev was going to have to win two more sets. This appeared improbable.

Alcaraz needed only one break of serve while holding his own to take the third set 6-4. The Spaniard was also having a bit of fun. After blowing an easy putaway at the net, he mockingly put his arms over his head. He was winning and beginning to dominate.

A break of Medvedev to put Alcaraz ahead 4-3 in the third set basically marked the end of a match he would win 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-4. The Russian did not play poorly, he is just incapable of matching the Spaniard if Alcaraz is playing his best. Now, Alcaraz will take on Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti in the final. A matchup of Alcaraz versus Djokovic would mirror the five-set classic tennis fans saw in last year's Wimbledon final.

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