Champion Carlos Alcaraz and seven-time winner Novak Djokovic will meet again in a red-hot Wimbledon final rematch after consummate Centre Court triumphs.

Alcaraz overcame another sluggish start to blast past an outclassed Daniil Medvedev in the opening semi-final, losing the first set for the third time in the Championships on Friday only to move up several gears to race to victory 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-4 6-4.

Then Djokovic took centre stage to earn a crack at avenging last year’s five-set loss in a classic final as he defeated Lorenzo Musetti in immaculate fashion 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.

Once again, Djokovic, who had the crowd firmly behind his Italian opponent, showed them how he felt following his merciless win by playing a mocking lament on his imaginary violin.

Their victories mean the same pair will meet in consecutive Wimbledon finals for the first time since Djokovic beat Roger Federer in both 2014 and 2015.

Alcaraz’s victory, rather harder earned than his straight-sets victory at the same stage last year against the Russian, set up a huge day of sport on Sunday, when he will aim to beat Djokovic again just hours before Spain take on England in the Euro 2024 soccer final.

“It’s going to be really good day for Spanish people as well, with the Euros,” said Alcaraz, whose mention of the big match inevitably drew an animated reaction with plenty of boos mixed with laughter from the Centre Court crowd.

It prompted Alcaraz to add quickly to get them back onside: “I didn’t say Spain is going to win, I just said it’s going to be a really fun day!”

Alcaraz hasn’t been consistently at his best through the whole tournament, and it was the same again against the No.5 seed as he mixed a selection of the most dazzling shots with careless mistakes.

But, just as in the rest of the tournament after losing first sets against Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul, Alcaraz raised his game to end up dominating with a total of 55 winners to offset his 37 unforced errors in an absorbing contest that lasted just five minutes under three hours.

Medvedev steams

Medvedev, though, may have been lucky to escape being defaulted in the first set when he was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct from umpire Eva Asderaki.

Asderaki ruled Medvedev had not got to an Alcaraz drop shot before it bounced twice, leading to a break of serve for the Spaniard, and the Russian reacted with an angry tirade against the official.

It prompted Asderaki-Moore to get down from her chair and take the rare step of talking to the referee and supervisor, before eventually giving Medvedev only a warning.

Replays showed she had made the right call.

After Alcaraz moved comfortably to within one match of pulling off the rare cross-Channel French Open-Wimbledon double and a fourth grand slam crown, Djokovic, just five weeks since surgery to repair a torn meniscus, moved imperiously into his 37th grand slam final.

“I am satisfied and pleased, but I don’t want to stop here – hopefully I get my hands on the trophy,” declared the 37-year-old.

—AAP