It’s the men’s singles of Wimbledon on Friday and two cracking matches are lined-up for Centre Court.

In the first semi-final the defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain will face the 5th seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia.

The third seeded Alcaraz hasn't had the best of tournaments but the 21-year-old said he is ready to fight to continue his title defence.

He added that Medvedev is like and wall and you have to bring your A-game to beat him.

“The most difficult thing about facing Daniil, or the most special thing about him, is he can reach every ball,” said Alcaraz.

"Well, he is like a wall. Every ball bounces back.

“I feel like I can hit an unbelievable shot, the ball is going to bounce back. Is difficult to play thinking about that.”

Lorenzo Musetti AELTC/Chloe Knott

Meanwhile in the second semi-final the seven-time champion Novak Djokovic will continue his pursuit for a record 25th Grand Slam title when he faces Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.

Djokovic who had surgery to his knee just over a month ago and while he is feeling good and confident, he is going to have to execute.

“The preparations have gone really well for the semi -finals, but also for the whole tournament,” said Djokovic.

“I've been feeling really good on the court, each match better and better, I know what to do.

“Of course, it's a completely different story of executing that on the court, so I'm hoping I can do that.”

Should Alcaraz and Djokovic advance, it will be a repeat of the 2023 final. A year ago the Spanish sensational beat the seasoned Master 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6 and 6-4 to win the iconic tournament at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

The first semi-final is set to start at 14:30.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport