The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.Models. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. So, yeah, everyone's focused on this match.ĬHANG: That was Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated and the Tennis Channel, joining us from the tournament in Paris. WERTHEIM: And then 14 days later, here it is. There are no guarantees when you have 128 players and all those permutations, but when the draw was made more than two weeks ago, everybody sort of took out their highlighters, and this was the match to watch. Like, is the whole place just abuzz with tomorrow's game coming up? I mean, I put him in the elite athletes in history as far as meeting the moment and being a clutch player and sort of bringing his best when the situation requires it.ĬHANG: Well, OK. But Djokovic's mental strength is just like nothing I've seen - not just in tennis. And he's - I describe him to non-tennis fans as sort of the Zava character of "Ted Lasso." He's sort of just this speaker - this just mythical player - and his mental strength, which is not always as obvious to the eye as slugging 100-mile-an-hour shots. And Djokovic is the sort of classic youth-versus-experience, and Djokovic has been here many times. He just absolutely slugs the ball, and he has the virtue and the good fortune of being 20 years old. WERTHEIM: No, I mean, Alcaraz is this 20-year-old kid. WERTHEIM: The weaknesses are hard to come by. When it comes to Alcaraz and Djokovic, what would you say are the strengths and the weaknesses that you see in each man's game as they're about to face each other? This really does feel like a hinge point - pivot moment for tennis.ĬHANG: Well, OK. I mean, this really is sort of the match to watch, and as you say, there really is history at stake. Open and Djokovic winning in Australia earlier this year. And they've won the last two majors - Alcaraz winning the U.S. And both of the players did their part, winning the required five matches, but also doing so in such a just dazzling fashion. But, no, I mean, I think everyone just sort of circled this as the de facto final. WERTHEIM: Tennis being into irony - wouldn't you know it? - the other semifinals might well go on to win. So, yeah, the recency effect is alive and well, but as of now, as we speak, Alcaraz, ironically enough, is the favorite.ĬHANG: OK, so there's no doubt that tomorrow's game is the game of the tournament, on the men's side at least, yeah? He's won this tournament twice, and the guy who won it 14 times and foiled him many times is not in the draw. 1 ranked player, but Alcaraz is the oddsmakers' favorite, which sounds insane when you're talking about a guy - and Djokovic, who not only has won 22 majors, but also won the most recent major. WERTHEIM: He did, and that was recently, and Alcaraz is not only the top seed and the No. I mean, Alcaraz did beat Djokovic the one time the two of them met, right? So, of course, fans are seeing this big game tomorrow as kind of like a generational shift, right? Like, if this 20-year-old can beat the 36-year-old and keep him from moving on to the finals - and let's be clear, this isn't just hopeful thinking. He joins us from the tournament in Paris. Joining us now is Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated writer and Tennis Channel analyst. Djokovic is hoping to turn tomorrow's game into a win so he can play for a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam championship. His opponent is none other than one of the top-three most dominant players in recent years, Novak Djokovic. For decades, tennis fans have been used to seeing a top-ranked Spaniard own the clay courts of the French Open, but this year, with Rafael Nadal out, it's 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz charging through to a semifinal match, hoping to win his second major.
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