Carlos Alcaraz surged into the Olympic Games final on Friday, setting the stage for a potential showdown with Novak Djokovic, who is grappling with a fitness crisis to salvage what could be his last shot at Olympic gold. French Open and Wimbledon winner Alcaraz made history by becoming the youngest man to reach the men's final since tennis's return to the Games in 1988, after a dominant display against Felix Auger-Aliassime. The 21-year-old Spaniard cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win in just 75 minutes and is set to face Djokovic in Sunday's final, provided the Serbian top seed can overcome a knee injury and Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the second semi-final.
"It has been a goal since the beginning of the year to win the gold medal, and now we have one match left to achieve it," Alcaraz stated. "I aim to enjoy the final and perform well." Alcaraz, who is playing on the same Roland Garros court where he claimed his first French Open title in June, dominated the 19th-ranked Auger-Aliassime, breaking his serve three times in the first set and twice in the second, securing his fourth consecutive victory over the Canadian after initially losing the first three encounters.
"The final is crucial for me and for Spain, but I am trying not to dwell on its importance and will concentrate on the match," Alcaraz noted. He joins Jordi Arrese, Sergi Bruguera, and Rafael Nadal as the only Spanish men to reach the Olympic men's final. Djokovic, after his quarterfinal victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, expressed concern about his right knee, which he aggravated and had surgery on in June. The 37-year-old is eager to add an Olympic gold to his 24 Grand Slam titles, but time is running out as he will be 41 by the next Olympics.
Djokovic's best Olympic performance was a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008, and he has lost in the semifinals three times since. He faces Musetti, the first Italian to reach the singles semifinals in an Olympic Games. Despite Djokovic's 6-1 head-to-head advantage over Musetti, the Italian has been impressive in Paris, winning all his matches in straight sets. World number one Iga Swiatek, after her semifinal loss to Zheng Qinwen, will compete for the women's bronze medal against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. The first tennis gold of the Olympics will be awarded in mixed doubles, with the Czech pair of Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac facing China's Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen.
