Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached his fourth Grand Slam final at Wimbledon on Friday, UK time, when he recovered from a set down to defeat Daniil Medvedev.
World number three Alcaraz beat his fifth-ranked opponent 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
He will face seven-time champion Novak Djokovic for the title on Sunday after the Serb took out Lorenzo Wimbledon also on Friday.
It will the second successive Wimbledon final of Alcaraz against Djokovic.
But Medvedev’s anger overshadowed Alcaraz’s win.
The Russian was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
It appeared he went on a foul mouthed tirade on the court.
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Twice, Medvedev led with breaks in the first set only to be pinned back by Alcaraz.
Such was his frustration that he was handed the warning by umpire Eva Asderaki after he appeared to say “f*** you” three times to a ball called for bouncing twice as he was broken in the ninth game.
The tournament referee was even summoned to Centre Court by Asderaki.
‘Match should have stopped there’
But it could have been worse, said British tennis veteran Tim Henman.
“If you use a swear word you’re going to get a code violation and a warning and a fine, but if you verbally abuse the umpire, that’s when there’s a question mark. It could be a default,” the former world No 4 told the BBC.
“Just from where we’re sitting to see the umpire get down off the umpire’s chair, to see the umpire and the supervisor to go on the court, that doesn’t happen unless something has gone on.”
Leading tennis journalist Carole Bouhcard said in social media that the “match should have stopped there …”
Online there were also calls for the game to be called off.
“He should have been disqualified,” said one.
“Poor umpire, she shouldn’t have to put up with that,” said another.
“Code violation absolutely deserved. I like Meddy’s (sic) sarcastic personality, but this is absolutely uncalled for and unsportsmanlike.”
Medvedev shrugged off the incident to sweep through the tie-break and take the opening set in which he committed only eight unforced errors to the Spaniard’s 15.
It was the third time at this year’s Wimbledon that Alcaraz had dropped the first set.
Alcaraz recovered impressively, breaking Medvedev for a 3-1 lead in the second having come out on top in the previous game on the back of a 27-shot rally.
The 21-year-old then hit 14 winners in the third set, pocketing the only break in the third game.
Medvedev, who had knocked out world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, retrieved a break early in the fourth set.
But Alcaraz kept up his assault, edging ahead again for 4-3 on his way to victory.
Djokovic win sets up identical final
Just five weeks after undergoing knee surgery, seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic reached his 10th final at the All England Club with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 win over the Italian 25th seed, Lorenzo Wimbledon.
Djokovic, 37, can equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and become the tournament’s oldest champion of the modern era if he avenges last year’s final loss to Alcaraz.
The last time Djokovic and Wimbledon met was at the French Open in June when the Serb claimed victory in a third round tie which ended at 3:07 in the morning.
On Friday, however, Djokovic was untroubled on his way to a 37th Grand Slam final.
He broke for 4-2 lead in the opener and, despite surrendering the advantage and letting two set points slip in the ninth game, he broke again in the 10th to claim the set.
FULL MATCH REPORTS
The Alcaraz Elevation: Defending champ in pursuit of the greats at Wimbledon as he reaches second final
Booed again, Djokovic plays the Wimbledon crowd like a fiddle in setting up Alcaraz rematch