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Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the men’s singles gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics after defeating Félix Auger-Aliassime on Friday 6-1, 6-1. It’s the fourth straight win for Alcaraz over his Canadian opponent.
Alcaraz, the No. 3-ranked player in the world, has yet to drop a set in the tournament at Roland Garros, site of the French Open. He will face Novak Djokovic on Sunday with a gold medal on the line.
Should he win, Alcaraz, 21, will become the youngest man to win an Olympics tennis singles gold medal. The Spaniard is about a month younger than Vincent Richards of the U.S. who won gold during the 1924 Paris Games.
That’s now 12 straight victories for Alcaraz, who became the youngest man to reach the Olympic singles semifinals since Djokovic in 2008 after defeating American Tommy Paul on Thursday.
Alcaraz was his dominant self against Auger-Aliassime, winning 15-of-21 first-serve points and 9-of 11 second-serve points. He was also 5-or-9 on break points converted and won five return games.
Djokovic grateful to make first Olympics final
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic advanced to his first Olympics final after defeating Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. He will face No. 2 Alcaraz for the gold medal on Sunday.
Djokovic and Alcaraz have faced each other six times, with each player winning three times. Most recently, Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in this year’s Wimbledon final, winning in straight sets to win his second consecutive title at the All England Tennis Club.
The gold medal match will be a match of youngest versus oldest. At 21, Alcaraz is the youngest to play for Olympic gold in men’s singles. Djokovic is the oldest to reach the men’s final at 37 years old.
The winner of three French Open championships at Roland-Garros, where the Paris tennis tournament is being played, Djokovic is very aware of his history in Olympic play.
“You know, I’ve been waiting for this for almost 20 years,” Djokovic told NBC’s Britney Eurton in his post-match interview. “I played four Olympic Games; this is my fifth and I never passed the semifinals. So I lost three out of four semifinals in my first four Olympic Games and I managed to overcome this big hurdle.”
“I must be honest and say that I was thinking about all the semifinals that I’ve lost,” he added, emphasizing that making the final for the first time in his career is very meaningful for him.
Djokovic’s knee concerns ahead of semifinal
Djokovic knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas in Thursday’s quarterfinal in straight sets to face Musetti. The 37-year-old Djokovic dealt with knee issues during the match, which will be something to keep an eye on during the second semifinal.
“I’m concerned about the state of the knee,” Djokovic said Thursday. “I cannot give you exact information, because I don’t have it. I have to go and examine the knee now with my physio and with the medical staff of the tournament. And then let’s see.”
No All-American final in men’s doubles
The team of Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz fell in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, in Friday’s men’s doubles semifinal to Australia’s Matthew Ebden and John Peers.
Had the No. 3-seeded Paul and Fritz advanced, they would have faced fellow Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram (six-time Grand Slam doubles champions) in Saturday’s gold medal match. Instead, they will meet Czechia’s Tomáš Macháč and Adam Pavlásek for bronze later Friday.
Paul and Fritz reached Friday’s semifinal after beating Great Britain’s Andy Murray and Daniel Evans in the quarterfinals, ending Murray’s tennis career.
Świątek takes bronze
Poland’s Iga Świątek won the bronze medal in the women’s singles tournament after defeating Anna Karolína Schmiedlová of Slovakia 6-2, 6-1 on Friday.
Świątek, the No. 1-ranked player in the world who was favored for for gold, needed 59 minutes to win the match, which was her first win after her 25-match unbeaten streak at Roland Garros came to an end in the semifinals following a loss to China’s Qinwen Zheng.
Source Agencies
