Carlos Alcaraz continued his march to Olympic glory as the second seed advanced to the final in Paris with a 6-1, 6-1 trouncing of Félix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals.
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 13th-seeded Canadian on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
“I had to be focused on myself and 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 and 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.” He added.
Alcaraz returned to the scene of his French Open triumph just under two months ago, reaching the semifinals without dropping a set. His toughest challenge came in the quarterfinals against the 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.
Competing for a place in the final, Alcaraz quickly reached a 40-0 advantage but then made a nervous double fault on triple match point. He didn’t make any mistakes on the second match point, as he outplayed Auger-Aliassime one last time and crossed the finish line as the Canadian made a long error.
The winner of the second semifinal between top seed Novak Djokovic and the red-hot number 11 seed Lorenzo Musetti will be his opponent in the final. The Italian defeated the reigning Olympic champion, Alexander Zverev, in straight sets on Thursday.
Despite winning his quarterfinal against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Djokovic expressed worry about a potential knee injury similar to the one that led to his withdrawal from Roland Garros and necessitated undergoing treatment surgery.