Transcript
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
There have been injuries and a lot of rain over the last two weeks at Wimbledon, some shocking outcomes as well. The women's final is set. The men sort their final out today. Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim is there. Jon, what's the atmosphere feel like on center court today? Is it still kind of rainy?
JON WERTHEIM: Well, the good news is center court has a roof. And that has really saved this tournament because it has been - persistent doesn't even describe it. I mean, this rain is like nothing I've seen. But now we are here in the round of four for the men, and we have our women's final set up. And it's still a little bit damp right now, but there will be tennis, which ultimately is all that matters.
MARTÍNEZ: Nice. All right. Novak Djokovic has already won seven Wimbledon titles, not necessarily expected to do well, as he's been banged up a little bit. How's he been looking?
WERTHEIM: It's just an extraordinary story that about five weeks ago, Novak Djokovic, who - oh, yes - is also 37 years old, which is ancient in tennis actuarial tables - had knee surgery. And most people assumed he would not play Wimbledon this year and perhaps ever again. He gets the surgery. He makes this amazing recovery. And now here he is, two matches away from title No. 8 and has looked quite good. He got a bit of a break in his previous round when his opponent got injured, so he didn't have to play a quarter final. But suddenly, he is on the threshold of yet another title.
MARTÍNEZ: He's got a chip on his shoulder, too, calling out fans who feel - have disrespected him.
WERTHEIM: Yeah. My theory on this is his two great rivals, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, are not here.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
WERTHEIM: And so he needs another source of motivation. And so he has found a couple of Danish fans who may or may not have been booing him. I asked the tournament, and I said, did you have any reports of rude fans? And nobody really heard this, save Novak Djokovic.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
WERTHEIM: But if this is what motivates him and gives him reason to continue competing, so be it.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, tell us about his opponent - not necessarily a well-known name.
WERTHEIM: Yeah, he plays Lorenzo Musetti, who's a very stylish player from Italy, only 22 years old. These two played, actually, at Roland-Garros - so at the French Open - you know, barely a month ago. And Musetti did quite well. He didn't win, but he took a few sets off Novak Djokovic, as he has done in the past. He's been terrific here. I'm not sure he's quite ready for both the occasion and the opponent today, but this is a star to watch. There are a lot of Italian players ascending, and this is another one of them.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. The other semi is Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, a repeat, actually, of last year's semifinals. Who do you think has the edge here?
WERTHEIM: Yeah, Alcaraz is sort of the defending champion and the bright, shining light in tennis now. He also won the French Open last month. I think he's probably the favorite. But Medvedev is a very unconventional player. He's very lanky. He does nothing like anyone else, which can make him hard to practice against and to simulate. I think Alcaraz has a slight edge, but this ought to be a good match.
MARTÍNEZ: The women's final is set for tomorrow, and two names that maybe - unless you're a hard core tennis fan, maybe you might not know them.
WERTHEIM: Yeah, women's tennis has become - someone likened it to me - I wish I could have claimed credit for this. It's sort of like 50 oil wells, and one of them eventually will turn into a gusher but you're never sure which ones. So we knew the field was wide open to start, and it yielded Jasmine Paolini, who's a very nice player who's had a very good year, but before this year had never won a match at Wimbledon in her entire career. She's 28.
Her opponent is another 28-year-old, Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, who had won the French Open a few years ago, but this year had a losing record headed into this event. So, you know, raise your hand if you had the Krejcikova-Paolini...
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
WERTHEIM: ...Final for the Wimbledon title. But it ought to be a fun match. Two players exactly the same age. It's something to look forward to nonetheless.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated speaking to us from Wimbledon. Jon, thanks.
WERTHEIM: Thanks, A.
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