Carlos Alcaraz assured of Olympic medal on debut as Spaniard crushes Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach gold-medal match in Paris 2024
Carlos Alcaraz booked his spot in the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday (August 2), steamrolling past Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals. The Spaniard is now assured of a medal at the Games, his maiden Olympic medal in his first appearance at the event.
Alcaraz, the defending Roland Garros champion, started strong in the opening set, breaking early to take a 3-1 lead. Against a weary Auger-Aliassime, the World No. 3 was at his lethal best, producing two more breaks to take the set 6-1 without any fuss.
In the second set, it was more of the same as Alcaraz had answers for everything the Canadian youngster threw at him. A double break display saw the four-time Grand Slam champion run away with the second set 6-1 as well, giving him victory in just over an hour and a quarter of play.
The head-to-head between the duo is now 4-3 in favor of Carlos Alcaraz, who has won their last four matches on the trot. The last time he lost to Auger-Aliassime was in 2022, and has since won all their next matches in straight sets.
Carlos Alcaraz to take on either Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musettin in Paris Olympics final
Following his win over Felix Auger-Aliassime, Carlos Alcaraz will take on either Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti in the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The duo will take on each other in the second semifinal later today on Court Philippe-Chartrier.
Alcaraz is tied 3-3 in the head-to-head with Djokovic. Their most recent clash came in the final at Wimbledon last month, with the Spaniard winning in straight sets. Against Musetti, Alcaraz leads 3-1 in the head-to-head record, having won their last three matches on the trot.
In his debut Olympics appearance, the World No. 3 is chasing gold, with Djokovic and Musetti looking for a maiden gold medal as well. Alcaraz was also in action in Paris in men's doubles, partnering with 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. The duo reached the quarterfinals but fell to American pair Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek in straight sets.
Following the Olympics, Carlos Alcaraz will be playing next at the Cincinnati Open. He has already announced his withdrawal from the Canadian Open taking place next week, and will shift from Cincinnati to the US Open, where he is a former champion.