November 20, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz crushes Felix Auger-Aliassime, barges into gold medal match in Paris 2024

Carlos Alcaraz crushes Felix Auger-Aliassime, barges into gold medal match in Paris 2024
Carlos Alcaraz reaches his first-ever Olympic final in his debut in Paris 2024. | Photo (c) X/International Tennis Federation

Carlos Alcaraz wasted no time in disposing of Felix Auger-Aliassime, giving up only two games in just 75 minutes to complete a 6-1, 6-1 victory that gave him a seat in the gold medal duel in Paris 2024 on Friday, Aug. 2.

Alcaraz, at 21 years and 89 days old, just became the youngest men's finalist since tennis returned as a full medal sport in the Olympics in Seoul 1988.

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The four-time Grand Slam champion is also on track of becoming just the second man to win an Olympic gold and lift the Roland Garros and Wimbledon trophies in the same season next to compatriot Rafael Nadal who did it in 2008.

The World No. 2, who won the last three of his six previous meetings against Auger-Aliassime, answered with six straight games after the Canadian held to open the match.

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It was the same story in the second as they first traded holds at the onset, before Alcaraz raced to the finish, breaking his 19th ranked opponent five times in all.

Alcaraz, who joined Jordi Arrese (1992), Sergi Bruguera (1996) and Nadal (2008) as the only Spanish men to reach the singles final since 1988, fired 12 winners against 13 unforced errors in the match that just took 75 minutes to finish.

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 The Olympic debutant forced 21 errors against Auger-Aliassime, who also stumbled to 23 unforced errors while only coughing up five winners.

Alcaraz will next face either Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti, with all three eyeing their first-ever Olympic gold medal.

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Auger-Aliassime bettered his finish in Tokyo 2020, where he exited in the first round in his debut.

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