Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the Paris final as the second seed, defeating Félix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1, to continue his ascent to Olympic glory.
The defending champion of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, who is competing in his first Olympics, defeated the 13th-seeded Canadian in 75 minutes to move to 20-1 since the end of May and secure his podium place.
“I’m really happy with my performance, and I had to be focused on myself and my game,” Alcaraz stated. It’s definitely the greatest tennis I’ve played so far, so I’m feeling good. In the finals, hopefully, I can perform better. He went on, “It’s a really special moment for me in my life and career.” I’m going to make an effort to savour this moment because it will be unique yet quite challenging. I’m going to try to keep my attention on myself and block out the supporters and those who predict my victory. I want to play my hardest and give it everything I’ve got in the hopes of winning the gold. He continued. Barely two months ago, Alcaraz made his way back to the French Open final, where he advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set. The American Tommy Paul, who was playing well, presented him with his hardest test in the quarterfinals. Paul had a set point in the second set tiebreaker, but the 21-year-old Spaniard overcame it to win in two sets.
Alcaraz, vying for a spot in the championship match, jumped off to an early 40-0 lead before making a tense double fault on triple match point. On the second match point, he made no mistakes as he once again outperformed Auger-Aliassime and crossed the finish line after the Canadian made a lengthy miscue.
His opponent in the championship match will be the victor of the second semifinal between top-seeded Novak Djokovic and the scorching number-eleven Lorenzo Musetti. On Thursday, the Italian overcame Alexander Zverev, the current Olympic champion, in straight sets. Though Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in his quarterfinal, he voiced concern about a possible knee issue, the same kind that forced him to withdraw from Roland Garros and require surgery for treatment.