Paris Olympics 2024 final: Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Novak Djokovic vs (2) Carlos Alcaraz
Date: August 4, 2024
Tournament: Paris Olympics 2024
Round: Final
Venue: Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France
Category: Olympics
Surface: Clay
Live Telecast: USA - NBC, Peacock | UK - Eurosport, Discovery+, BBC iPlayer | Canada - CBC Gem, Radio Canada, Tou.tv | India - JioCinema, Sports18
Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz preview
Serbia's Novak Djokovic will take on Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in the gold medal play-off match at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, August 4.
Djokovic commenced his quest for an Olympic gold with a 6-0, 6-1 beatdown of Australia's Matthew Ebden. He beat his old rival Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in the second round, and secured a 7-5, 6-3 win over Germany's Dominik Koepfer.
The Serb defeated Greece's Stefanos Tstisipas 6-3, 7-6 (3) to set up a semifinal showdown against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti. The two remained steady on serve until the end of the first set.
Musetti served to stay in the set at 5-4 and held three game points as well. However, Djokovic found a way to break his serve and capture the set. The pair broke each other's serve thrice to start the second set, with the Italian coming out on top to lead 2-1. The Serb staged a quick turnaround as he bagged the next five games for a 6-4, 6-2 win.
Alcaraz's debut at the Olympics started with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Lebanon's Hady Habib. He ousted the Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor before beating Roman Safiullin, both in straight sets. He downed USA's Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-6 (7) to make the semifinals, where Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime awaited him.
Alcaraz was in a hurry to seal his spot in the final as he blitzed through the contest in a little over an hour. The Spaniard dropped one game in each set to outplay Auger-Aliassime for an easy 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz head-to-head
The two have split their previous six meetings evenly to tie the head-to-head at 3-3. Alcaraz won their most recent encounter in the final of this year's Wimbledon in straight sets.
Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz prediction
Alcaraz didn't break a sweat to beat Auger-Aliassime in the previous round. He didn't face a single break point during the match, won 77 percent of his first serve points, and hit 12 winners against 13 unforced errors.
Musetti challenged Djokovic from time to time but the latter never lost his focus to reach his first Olympic final on his fifth attempt. The Serb won 64 percent of his first serve points and struck 12 winners in contrast to 23 unforced errors.
The two recently faced off in the Wimbledon final, which was a re-match of last year's summit clash. Alcaraz easily outplayed Djokovic to successfully defend his title. Things could be a lot different this time as both players seem to be playing at a high level at the Olympics.
There's less room for error as well considering this will be a best-of-three-sets contest. An Olympic gold is the only thing missing from Djokovic's trophy cabinet. After so many heartbreaks over the years, the stars seem to have aligned for him to claim it.
It's going to be an uphill battle for Djokovic since Alcaraz is currently on a 12-match winning streak. However, the Serb defied the odds to beat his younger rival in the past and has it in him to do so again and finally capture the elusive gold medal.
Pick: Novak Djokovic to win in three sets.