Carlos Alcaraz is on the brink of becoming the youngest male to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1 in the Paris Games semifinals on Friday.
The 21-year-old Spaniard, who already has four Grand Slam titles to his name—including a win at Roland Garros in June—is just a month younger than Vincent Richards of the U.S., who won gold in Paris in 1924. With a large crowd waving Spanish flags and cheering “Vamos, Carlos!” on a cloudy afternoon at Court Philippe Chatrier, Alcaraz was dominant throughout the match, never facing a break point.
Auger-Aliassime, a 23-year-old Canadian whose best Grand Slam result was a semifinal at the 2021 U.S. Open, had previously been defeated by Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of that event due to an injury.
Alcaraz’s performance at these Olympics showcases his progress since then. He has won 12 consecutive matches at Roland Garros and secured a second straight Wimbledon title last month, where he defeated 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in both finals. Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia, was set to compete against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the other Olympic semifinal on Friday.
The women’s singles final will be held on Saturday, featuring Zheng Qinwen of China against Donna Vekic of Croatia, while Iga Swiatek and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova are scheduled to compete for the bronze. Djokovic’s fitness for his semifinal match was uncertain due to “sharp pain” in his surgically repaired right knee experienced during his quarterfinal win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. Musetti had previously eliminated Tokyo gold medalist Alexander Zverev.