Wimbledon LIVE as cheating row escalates and Alcaraz forces Djokovic complaints

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are set to compete in the Wimbledon final with the Serb hunting a 24th Grand Slam triumph. There are many records on the line for the 36-year-old, including matching Roger Federer’s eight Wimbledon trophy lifts.

However, young gun Alcaraz has been in blistering form and blew away No 3 seed Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals. The Spanish hot-shot has been the talk of the town and is expected to take the fight to his opponent.

Djokovic is wary of his new rival and is planning to put on a show. “He’s in great shape. He’s very motivated. He’s young. He’s hungry. I’m hungry, too, so let’s have a feast,” he explained.

Alcaraz said: “I believe I can beat Djokovic. Everyone knows the legend he is. I will fight. I will believe in myself. There’s no time to be afraid, no time to be tired.”

FIRST THREE BLOG UPDATES BELOW

Good morning

Good morning and welcome to Express Sport’s live coverage of the final day of Wimbledon.

We’ll have all the build-up ahead of the popcorn clash between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at 2pm.

Cheating row escalates

Since Novak Djokovic was penalised for a ‘hindrance’ after grunting loudly during his semi-final victory over Jannik Sinner, many players have weighed in on the incident.

It has sparked a conversation over whether some stars are trying to cheat the rules to put their opponents off.

American Taylor Fritz wanted to make it clear that he feels there is an element of cheating, particularly in the big moments of matches.

“I can’t speak to this specific instance because I didn’t see it,” he tweeted. “Novak doesn’t come to my mind when I think of this rule, BUT some players I can think of extend/delay grunts A LOT on big points to put you off and it needs to be called more by umpires.”

Alcaraz forces Djokovic complaint

Novak Djokovic complained about the lack of privacy this week after Carlos Alcaraz’s dad filmed his practice session.

“That’s the situation we are all in, the circumstances are such that we don’t have privacy in training, although sometimes I would like to have more privacy,” the Serb said. “Then it gives me more opportunities to try some things, to communicate more clearly with my team.

“The fact is that you are not completely relaxed in training. You know your rivals are there, you know everyone is looking over your shoulder at what’s going on, what you’re working on. Every shot is measured, evaluated and assessed.”

It could prove to be just the motivation Djokovic needs to secure his 24th Grand Slam title.

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