Carlos Alcaraz Advances to Paris Olympic 2024 Final With Victory Over Felix Auger-Aliassime
Carlos Alcaraz’s incredible summer is continuing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals and secured a spot in the Gold Medal Match.
The current Wimbledon and Roland Garros winner, who defeated his Canadian opponent handily, ensures his place on the Olympic podium in 2024.
“I had to be focused on myself, my game, and I’m really happy with my performance,” Alcaraz stated. It’s definitely the greatest tennis I’ve played so far, so I’m content with the outcome. In the finals, hopefully, I can perform better.
“It’s a really special moment for me, in my life, my career,” he stated. “I’m going to make an effort to savor this moment because it will be unique yet really challenging. I’m going to put all of my attention on myself and try not to listen to the supporters and those who predict my victory. I want to play my hardest and give it everything I’ve got in the hopes of winning the gold.”
The defending champion of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, who is competing in his first Olympics, defeated the thirteenth-seeded Canadian in 75 minutes to move to 20-1 since the end of May and secure his place on the podium.
In less than two months, Alcaraz won his maiden Roland Garros title on the same terrain. Since then, he has been on fire, going all the way to the semifinals without dropping a set. The 21-year-old Spaniard overcame a set point deficit in the second set tiebreaker against Tommy Paul, an in-form American, in the quarterfinals, to win in two sets. That was his hardest test of the season.
In the men’s doubles division, Alcaraz had an equally remarkable week, teaming up with Rafael Nadal to go to the quarterfinals. Alcaraz, like Nadal, has a chance to repeat his childhood hero’s 2008 campaign, which included a Roland Garros-Wimbledon-Olympic sweep.
An energized Auger-Aliassime, a former world No. 6 who has had consistency issues since making her first major semifinal appearance at the US Open in 2021, came across the net to begin the medal rounds. Earlier this year, Auger-Aliassime, who was ranked outside of the Top 30, showed promise on clay at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he upset Casper Ruud, the former No. 2, to reach his first Masters 1000 final.
On Thursday in Paris, Auger-Aliassime replicated the feat against Ruud, overcoming a setback in the second set to win over the Norwegian, make history as the first Canadian to make it to the Olympic singles semifinals, and position himself to win a medal in his second Olympics.
But first, he had to take on Alcaraz, a familiar foe. Going into Friday’s semifinal, their head-to-head record was knotted at three victories apiece, but the Canadian had lost their previous three meetings, including two this season in straight sets. Alcaraz won in straight sets in their most recent match, which took place in Paris and helped him win the Roland Garros championship.
“Yesterday was a really tough day for Félix, playing a really tough match in singles and mixed doubles, finished late,” Alcaraz stated on the court. “It was probably difficult to rest for him, which made it difficult to play his best tennis.”
And in that 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory, Alcaraz continued where he left off, breaking Auger-Aliassime three times to clinch the first set in just one game.
In an attempt to get back on track in the second set, Auger-Aliassime lost a 40–15 lead in the fourth game, was overturned on a failed first serve, and double flogged following a delay, giving Alcaraz the advantage in both the set and the break. Two games later, Alcaraz maintained pressure on the Auger-Aliassime serve and gained three break opportunities. Converting the double-break lead was made possible by a delicate drop shot that caught the 23-year-old off-position.
Alcaraz, who was serving for a finals berth, raced to a rapid 40-0 lead before making a nervous double fault that gave away triple match point. Alcaraz overtook Auger-Aliassime for the final time and crossed the finish line first, taking advantage of the Canadian’s mistake on the second match point.
The winner of the second semifinal between top seed Novak Djokovic and No. 11 seed Lorenzo Musetti—who defeated 2020 Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in straight sets on Thursday—will stand between Alcaraz and Olympic gold. Despite defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals, Djokovic voiced concern about a possible knee injury that would require surgery, similar to the one that led him to withdraw from Roland Garros.
Also Read: Lorenzo Musetti’s Straight Sets Victory Ends Alexander Zverev’s Olympic Title Defense in Paris 2024
Novak Djokovic Expresses Concern Over Right Knee at Paris Olympics After Win Over Tsitsipas
At Court Philippe Chatrier, the same location where he first tore his meniscus on June 3, the top seed felt “sharp pain” early in the second set.
During the Paris Games on Thursday night, Novak Djokovic expressed concern about his surgically repaired right knee. His win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-3, 7-6 (3), moved the 24-time Grand Slam champion to the Olympics semifinals for the fourth time, raising concerns after he had agony while chasing his first gold medal.
“I’m worried about the knee’s condition. I don’t have the information, thus I can’t offer it to you exactly. I have to go check on my knee with my physiotherapist and the tournament medical personnel right now. And then, we’ll see,” remarked Serbian tennis player Djokovic, 37, who takes on Italian player Lorenzo Musetti on Friday.
Djokovic remarked, “Hopefully, I can be ready.” Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada will take against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the other men’s semifinal.
Early in the second set against Tsitsipas at Court Philippe Chatrier—the same venue where he first tore his meniscus during a match at the French Open on June 3 and had to withdraw from that tournament—Djokovic felt “sharp pain.” After having surgery in Paris on June 5, he was back in action at Wimbledon less than a month later. He played well enough to make it to the final before losing to Alcaraz, and he wore a gray sleeve over that knee.
Wearing that sleeve, Djokovic took anti-inflammatory medications given to him by a doctor on Thursday when the score was 4-1 and a trainer paid him a visit while he was down 3-0 in the second set. However, that effect will go first thing tomorrow morning. Thus, I’ll probably have a more realistic image tomorrow and cross my fingers,” Djokovic stated.
An Olympic trophy is conspicuously absent from Djokovic’s résumé, despite his many achievements—more major titles than any other man in tennis history, 98 overall trophies, and the most weeks at No. 1 since the computerized rankings began fifty years ago. After taking home a bronze in Beijing in 2008, he declared that taking home the gold this time around was his top goal.
In his first three Games matchups, Djokovic had not lost a set, including a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Rafael Nadal, his opponent.
There didn’t seem to be any problems in the first set against Tsitsipas, a 25-year-old Greek who has finished second to Djokovic in major finals twice, most recently at the 2021 French Open. After slicing to his right to make a cross-court forehand winner on the final point of that set, Djokovic raised his arms in the air to enliven the fans.
But in the second set, he stammered, winced, and occasionally took a strange step on one point and then another. His wife Jelena, clutching a small Serbian flag, watched anxiously from the stands, and his team seemed anxious as well.
Tsitsipas went up 40-love in that game and earned three opportunities to force a third set. He served for the set at 5-3. But the resilient Djokovic refused to back down. There, he broke serve, and performed admirably in the final tiebreaker.
Tsitsipas remarked, “I feel like I could have done so much more today.” “Novak is among the world’s top players. He did teach me a valuable lesson: today I failed to demonstrate my deeper commitment to the match, even though I should have done so whenever I had the chance to close it.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz Set for Blockbuster Olympic Gold Medal Match on Sunday
The one significant award the Serbian great has been missing from his remarkable career is about to arrive.
In tennis, Novak Djokovic has almost reached every goal that can be pursued. He has finished first in the ATP rankings for 428 weeks, setting records for the most, and has won every Grand Slam tournament at least three times, every Masters 1000 event twice, and the ATP Finals seven times.
One significant accomplishment, though, has escaped him: an Olympic gold medal. He is now only one victory away from accomplishing this difficult feat.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion defeated the highly-effective Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-2 on Friday night to get to the gold-medal match of the Paris Olympics. This came after Musetti had twice broken the Italian. Djokovic, who has a 98-41 record in his previous 139 finals, won in his 140th career final.
As seen by his victories over Djokovic on clay in Monte Carlo last year and earlier this year at Roland Garros, Musetti has proven to be a formidable opponent for Djokovic. In the quarterfinals, the Italian also defeated Alexander Zverev, the current Olympic champion and number four in the world. But in this match, world No. 2 Djokovic demonstrated his higher caliber of play.
In the final game of the opening set, Djokovic earned the first break following nine straight holds to begin the contest. Serving at 4-5, 40-15, Musetti dropped four straight games, giving Djokovic the advantage in the first set.
Twice early in the second set, at 1-0 and 2-1, Djokovic trailed Musetti by a break, but he broke back both times. After then, Djokovic took control of the match, winning the final five games to end it in an hour and fifty minutes. Compared to the Italian, he had fewer unforced errors (23 to 27) and more wins (18 to 12). In joy, Djokovic then lowered himself to the court.
After defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 6-1, 6-1 in his semifinal match earlier in the day, none other than Carlos Alcaraz awaits Djokovic in the championship match.
In their six career confrontations, Djokovic and Alcaraz have split the wins, with Djokovic winning on clay in the 2023 Roland Garros semifinals and Alcaraz in the 2022 Madrid semifinals. With wins in the previous two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz leads the finals 2-1; Djokovic prevailed in the Cincinnati final last summer. Not too long ago, Alcaraz prevailed in their lone encounter of the year, winning the Wimbledon final 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4).
On Sunday in Paris, Djokovic and Alcaraz will compete for their first Olympic gold medals.
