Day 12 of the Wimbledon Championships was the day of the Men’s semi-finals. The day was not as exciting as the ladies semi-final day but the results in a way were expected before the day began and we now we have the rematch of the French Open semi-final which we were robbed of when Alcaraz started cramping. A huge final on Sunday between Alcaraz and Djokovic which I know many are looking forward to but for those who missed the semi’s, here is a little recap.

The first semi-final on the day was a rematch of last years quarter-final at Wimbledon between 8th seed, Sinner, and 2nd seed, Djokovic who is yet to lose in a grand slam in 2023. The first game of the match was brilliant for Sinner who took it to Djokovic but unfortunately for the young Italian he could not convert either of the 2 break points which he conjured up. Djokovic in true Djokovic fashion converted his first break point in the very next game and it was quickly 3-0 to the defending champ. A great service hold meant Sinner was on the board at 3-1. Sinner then once again conjured up a break point but once again he was unable to convert and Djokovic managed to hold serve again to lead 4-1. No more break points were seen in the next 4 games and Djokovic had the first set 6-3. Djokovic started off well again in the second set and broke Sinner in the 3rd game of the set. The very next game saw Sinner have yet another break point but just like the break points before, the young Italian could not convert. He never had another opportunity to break and Djokovic had the 2nd set 6-4. Sinner played his best set of tennis in the 3rd set and managed to keep the lead throughout the set and then managed to bring up 2 set points at 5-4 up on Djokovic’s serve. 2 forced errors later however meant that the 2 set points vanished just as quickly as they arrived. The set ended up going to a tiebreak where it was Sinner who got the first mini break to lead 3-1 before Djokovic closed it up to make it 4-4. The Serb won the next 3 points which meant he had booked his spot in yet another Wimbledon final.

The 2nd semi-final was in a way an intriguing match as Medvedev beat Alcaraz in straight sets 2 years ago but that was before Alcaraz was the player he is today. Alcaraz after his win against Rune spoke about how he started off nervously and Medvedev did start the better of the 2 players however Alcaraz managed to stay on serve in the early stages of the opening set. Then in the 8th game, Medvedev felt pressure on his serve for the first time in the match and Alcaraz took his first opportunity which gave him the 5-3 lead he wanted. A love hold later and Alcaraz had the first 6-3. The 2nd set started off in a similar fashion as Medvedev held to love while Alcaraz had to battle through a tight service game. After getting through that tight service game, Alcaraz broke the 3rd seed to lead by a set and 2-1. The set then went on serve until Alcaraz broke to take the set 6-3 to lead by 2 sets to love. The 3rd set was then the set which Alcaraz started really well as he went 3-0 up quickly. However Medvedev was not done and held serve and then out of nowhere really broke Alcaraz to make it 3-2. Unfortunately for Medvedev he was unable to hold in a tightly contested 6th game to hand Alcaraz the break back. But once again Medvedev broke easily to make it on serve at 4-3. Alcaraz composed himself at that change over and broke Medvedev to make it 4 breaks in a row and then held to book his spot in his first Wimbledon final.

Onto the fantasy leaderboard and ‘Sinner’s Injuries’ remain in a 9 point lead over ‘Fantasy Alive’. ‘Calf Cramps’ extend their gap to the chasing pack behind to 4 points and remain in 3rd. Then there is a massive battle for the last few prize positions as there is a 3 way tie for 4th between ‘Fine Whines’, ‘Hawks Hackers’ and ‘Volley Vibes’. ‘I miss my PIMS’ is waiting to pounce as well as they sit just 2 points behind 4th place in 7th.
We lost a few more teams on day 12 as ‘Wacky Wimbledon’ and ‘Another Calf Cramp’ and ‘Anyone for Tea?’ all were eliminated on day 12.

Ladies Final

Jabeur(6) vs Vondrousova (15H00)

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a tennis fantasy league organiser.http://Eishonline.co.za/jftl