Carlos Alcaraz dispatches Félix Auger-Aliassime, sweeps into Paris Olympic final

Carlos Alcaraz’s near-flawless summer continues at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games as the No. 2 seed stormed into the Gold Medal Match in Paris, defeating Félix Auger-Aliassime, 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.

"I had to be focused on myself, my game, and I'm really happy with my performance," Alcaraz said. "It's probably my best tennis so far, so I'm happy with the feeling. Hopefully I can be better in the finals.

"It's a really special moment for me, in my life, my career," he added. "I'm going to try and enjoy this moment because it's going to be really difficult, but special. I'm going to focus on myself and try not to hear all the fans, all the people who say I'm going to win. I want to give my 100%, my best tennis, and hopefully I reach my goal of getting the gold."

Playing in his debut Olympics, the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion improved to 20-1 since the end of May, guaranteeing himself a spot on the podium with a 75-minute victory over the thirteenth-seeded Canadian on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Alcaraz has been on song in his return to the terre battue on which he captured his first Roland Garros title just under two months ago, reaching the semifinals without dropping a set. His toughest challenge came in the quarterfinals against in-form American Tommy Paul, who held a set point in the second-set tiebreaker before the 21-year-old Spaniard rallied to win in two.

Alcaraz also enjoyed an unforgettable week in men's doubles, partnering Rafael Nadal to reach the quarterfinals. Like Nadal, Alcaraz has an opportunity to mirror his childhood idol's 2008 season with a Roland Garros-Wimbledon-Olympic sweep.

Across the net to kick off the medal rounds was an inspired Auger-Aliassime, a former world No. 6 who has struggled with consistency since reaching a maiden major semifinal at the 2021 US Open. Out of the Top 30 earlier this year, Auger-Aliassime showed signs of life on clay at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he shocked former No. 2 Casper Ruud en route to his first Masters 1000 final.

Auger-Aliassime repeated the feat against Ruud on Thursday in Paris, shaking off a second-set hiccup to defeat the Norwegian, become the first Canadian to reach an Olympic singles semifinals, and put himself in position to leave his second Olympics with a medal.

But first he had to face a familiar opponent in Alcaraz: though their head-to-head was tied at three wins apiece heading into Friday’s semifinal, the Canadian had lost their last three meetings, including two in straight sets this season. Their last match was also in Paris, where Alcaraz won in straight sets on his way to the Roland Garros title.

"Yesterday was a really tough day for Félix, playing a really tough match in singles and mixed doubles, finished late," Alcaraz said on court. "It was probably difficult to rest for him, which made it difficult to play his best tennis."

And Alcaraz picked up where he left off from that 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win, breaking Auger-Aliassime three times to win the opening set with the loss of just one game.

Auger-Aliassime looked to start the second set on more even footing but lost a 40-15 lead in the fourth game and, down break point, was overruled on a missed first serve and double faulted after a delay to hand Alcaraz the set and break advantage. Continuing to pressure the Auger-Aliassime serve, Alcaraz earned three break chances two games later, converting the double-break lead thanks to a feathery drop shot that took the 23-year-old out of position.

Serving for a spot in the final, Alcaraz earned a quick 40-0 lead only to throw in a nervous double fault up triple match point. Making no mistake on the second match point, Alcaraz outrallied Auger-Aliassime one last time and edged over the finish line as the Canadian erred long.

Standing between Alcaraz and Olympic gold will be the winner of the second semifinal between top seed Novak Djokovic and No. 11 seed Lorenzo Musetti, who knocked out 2020 Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in straight sets on Thursday. Though Djokovic won his quarterfinal over Stefanos Tsitsipas, he expressed concern over a potential knee injury, similar to that which forced him out of Roland Garros and undergo surgery.