Carlos Alcaraz on Cusp of Mirroring Rafael Nadal’s 2008 Feat in Blockbuster Wimbledon Final

Carlos Alcaraz nearly became the youngest player to reach the French Open and Wimbledon finals in the same season. At 21 years and 68 days, it is still an impressive feat.

But the man who remains the youngest to do is Rafael Nadal and that too, just by 33 days. Alcaraz did it at 21 years and 68 days, while Rafa achieved it at the age of 21 years and 35 days back in 2007.

In what is a remarkable co-incidence, when Nadal won the French Open 2007 title, it was his 3rd Grand Slam win. In 2024, Alcaraz at the same age, won the French Open as his 3rd Grand Slam title too.

But Alcaraz could replicate Nadal’s 2008 achievement of winning both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year as Spain winning a European Championships soccer title. 

Interestingly, Spain’s Euro 2024 final against England on Sunday, will take place 6 hours after Alcaraz’s Wimbledon final.

Alcaraz’s path to the Wimbledon final included a significant victory over Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals on Friday. This win further solidifies his status as a formidable competitor and increases the anticipation for his performance in the final. 

The title defence rolls on

Carlos Alcaraz defeats Daniil Medvedev 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/gPS9G6sDaa

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2024

In fact, after the semi-final win, Alcaraz teased the crowd by bringing up the Euro 2024 final cheekily. This got him some boos until he clarified that he didn’t mean Spain is necessarily going to beat England.

“I didn’t say Spain is going to win, I’m just saying it’s going to be a really fun day”

Carlos Alcaraz, ever the diplomat #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/s1HZQrN8ZC

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2024

Alcaraz fumbled at the start of the match, losing the first set in a tiebreak. He was lackluster especially on his first serve, in which he achieved just 48% accuracy. However, he bounced back after being 1-3 down in the second set and tightened up his game quickly enough.

Novak Djokovic will play the final against Carlos Alcaraz in what is a rematch of the 2023 final. Djokovic won his semi-final against Lorenzo Musetti, 6-4, 7-6, 6-4.