It is the final we had all hoped for from the opening day: Carlos Alcaraz, the best player in the world, against Novak Djokovic, the best player in history.

Alcaraz eased himself into his first Wimbledon final with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 flattening of Daniil Medvedev. It was not that Medvedev did not try; it was just that he could not lay a glove on the 20-year-old top seed. Alcaraz dominated in the first two sets and was the stronger, mentally and physically, in the third. There was nothing Medvedev could do about it.

“It’s a dream for me to be able to play a final here in Wimbledon,” he said. “I’m going to enjoy this amazing moment; it’s the time to keep dreaming.

“It was really, really difficult to close the match. Daniil didn’t want to lose - he’s an amazing fighter. In that tough moment, I had to be aggressive, and just focus on me and what I do.”

As for taking on Djokovic on Sunday, Alcaraz was clearly up for the challenge.

“Everybody knows the legend that he is,” the Spaniard said. “It’s going to be really, really difficult but I will fight – that’s me [what I do]. I will believe in myself, believe that I can beat him here. He hasn’t lost in this court since 2013 but I dream of this moment since I was a boy. It is no time to be afraid, no time to be tired. I’m going to go for it.”

It was a first Wimbledon semi-final for both men so there were bound to be a few nerves at the start. For Medvedev in particular, it was a new experience – he had not played on Centre Court yet this year. The result was that it took a few games before either man was able to shake the tension from their legs but once they did, a pattern started to emerge.

Alcaraz spent the first four games hitting almost exclusively to the Medvedev forehand – he served to that wing, he rallied to that wing and he generally had the world No.3 lunging out to his right at every opportunity. That was a good starting point. Now what?

To say that Medvedev adopts a deep position on the return of serve is putting it mildly. He stands so far back that at one point he had to ask the line judge to move out of the way: he needed more room. Then again, at 6ft 6in (1.98m), his legs are so long that it only takes him a couple of strides to get from baseline to net post so he sees no problem in parking up by the backstop. 

On the other side of the net Alcaraz watched with interest. OK, if you are going to play from there, let’s see how you deal with this: three drop shots in four points. Medvedev couldn’t deal with it and Alcaraz was another game to the good. And when the tall man took his eye off the ball for a couple of games, Alcaraz pounced and the first set was his.

Medvedev was rattled. He headed off court to try to clear his head and, sure enough, when he returned, he looked more focused and tried to drag errors from the Spaniard’s racket with a few elongated rallies. And then Alcaraz broke him for a 2-1 lead. The second set was done and dusted. 

When they last played in SW19, back in 2021, Alcaraz was taking his first steps on the grass and had a ranking of No.85. Unsurprisingly, Medvedev, then the world No.2, won with relative ease. 

Two years on and Alcaraz is the world No.1, Medvedev is the No.3. And Medvedev cannot get near him these days. It was just the same as when they met in the Indian Wells final earlier this year – and that was on Medvedev’s favoured hard courts. Alcaraz flattened him. 

All Medvedev could do was try to keep the ball away from the Spaniard’s forehand and hope. But that was easier said than done. The Alcaraz forehand is a thing of beauty and terror. The pace, the power, the sheer venom he can produce on the shot is breathtaking. Well, it is if you are watching from the comfort of the courtside.

If you are facing it on court, it must be terrifying. One forehand in his previous match was measured at 100mph – and that was in the opening game when he was just warming up.

By the third set, Alcaraz was pulling his opponent from one side of the court to the other, from the back of the court to the net – he was moving Medvedev around at will. He was breaking him at will, too, and nine points into the set, the top seed was in the lead.

Still, Medvedev was not finished. Taking his courage in both hands, he went on the attack. He broke back. He was broken again. He broke back again. He was making his rival work much harder now. But when Alcaraz broke again for a 5-3 lead, we were on our way to the final we had all hoped for.

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