Olympic gold beckons

Alcaraz against Auger-Aliassime from 13:30 LIVE

Carlos Alcaraz

(Bild: AFP/APA/Miguel MEDINA)

Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz can crown his fantastic summer of tennis with a gold medal at the Olympic Games in France!

All he needs is one more win. With an impressive performance, the Spaniard defeated the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6:1, 6:1 in the semi-finals in Paris on Friday and has already secured the silver medal. On Sunday, Alcaraz can crown himself the successor to Tokyo Olympic champion Alexander Zverev against Novak Djokovic in the final.

Alcaraz sets an age record
In the final, the world number three will face the Serbian top star Novak Djokovic, who defeated the Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6:4 and 6:2, in a repeat of the Wimbledon final. Once again, Alcaraz sets an age record. At 21 years and 91 days, he is the youngest finalist since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988. Auger-Aliassime will fight for bronze after his defeat against the loser of the second semi-final. Top seed Iga Swiatek from Poland has already secured this medal in the women's singles with a clear 6:2-6:1 victory over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova from Slovakia in the match for third place.

Alcaraz quickly set the tone against the surprise semi-finalist on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The four-time Grand Slam tournament winner repeatedly put the Canadian in considerable trouble in the one-sided duel, including on his serve. The Spaniard had defeated Zverev in five sets on the same court in the French Open final in June. In the Wimbledon final, he led record Grand Slam winner Djokovic for long stretches.

"It's a very important moment for all Spaniards!"
"I played at a very high level from start to finish," summarized Alcaraz. There is now just one more hurdle to overcome to win the third "big" title this year alongside the French Open and Wimbledon. "One of my goals at the beginning of the year was the Olympic gold medal, and now I've made it to the match where I can try to win it. It's a very important moment for my team, my family and all Spaniards. I want to have fun and make it," said the 21-year-old.

Swiatek made history for Poland
Swiatek redeemed herself after the bitter semi-final exit, the world number one didn't give Schmiedlova a single chance and made history by winning the first ever Olympic tennis medal for Poland. The final between Swiatek's Chinese conqueror Zheng Qinwen and Croatia's Donna Vekic will not be played until Saturday.