Djokovic to battle Alcaraz for gold in Olympics showdown

By Sports Desk August 02, 2024

Novak Djokovic will face Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the men's singles at the Paris Olympics.

Djokovic, having seen Alcaraz dispatch Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets, made light work of Lorenzo Musetti in Friday's second semi-final to qualify for an Olympics singles showpiece match for the first time in his incredible career.

The Serbian won 6-4 6-2 at Roland-Garros, where he also defeated Rafael Nadal en route to reaching the final.

Now, Nadal's compatriot Alcaraz stands in between Djokovic and his first gold medal, who previously claimed bronze at the 2008 Games.

Djokovic will also have revenge on his mind, with Sunday's showdown coming just three weeks after the 37-year-old lost to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.

The pair's head-to-head record stands at three wins apiece.

Data Debrief: Three of a kind

In reaching his maiden Olympic gold medal match, Djokovic became just the third player to reach the singles final after turning 30 since tennis returned to the Games in 1988.

It is quite the illustrious list, with Djokovic joining Serena Williams and his old foe Roger Federer, who both reached the respective men's and women's finals in London 12 years ago.

Should he triumph against Alcaraz, Djokovic will become just the fifth player to complete a career golden slam, which includes winning all four grand slams and a singles Olympic gold medal.

Only Stefanie Graf, Andre Agassi, Nadal and Williams have previously done so.

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  • 'I have waited almost 20 years' – Djokovic delighted to end long wait for Olympic singles final 'I have waited almost 20 years' – Djokovic delighted to end long wait for Olympic singles final

    Novak Djokovic was relieved to end his Olympic semi-final hoodoo and finally reach the singles final at the Games for the first time.

    The 24-time major champion defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 6-2 to ensure he would walk away from Roland-Garros with a medal.

    Djokovic will now face number two seed Carlos Alcaraz in a rematch of last month's Wimbledon final.

    The 37-year-old was aware of the enormity of the achievement in going one step further, having suffered semi-final losses to Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev in three previous Olympic semi-finals, though he did claim bronze at the Beijing Games in 2008.

    "I have been waiting for this for almost 20 years," Djokovic said in his on-court interview.

    "I've played four Olympic Games, this is my fifth and '’ve never passed the semi-finals. I lost three semi-finals in my first four Olympic Games.

    "I managed to overcome this big hurdle. I must be honest and say that I was thinking about all the semi-finals that I lost."

    The Serbian had to overcome injury concerns after his quarter-final match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Djokovic was more encouraged by his mental strength against an opponent that has made great strides on the ATP Tour this season in Musetti.

    "I just tried to be in the present moment. I played against a player who is in great form and really came out firing from both ends," Djokovic added.

    "I just tried to maintain the focus and do what I have to do."

    Sunday's final between Djokovic and Alcaraz will be the seventh meeting between the pair, with the head-to-head currently at three apiece.

  • Home hero Marchand celebrates 'unbelievable' week after clinching fourth Paris gold Home hero Marchand celebrates 'unbelievable' week after clinching fourth Paris gold

    Leon Marchand capped off an "unbelievable" week in the pool as he claimed his fourth gold medal of the Paris Games.

    Home hope Marchand has dominated at La Defense Arena, and won the 200-metre medley to complete a remarkable set of golds.

    His win on Friday came on the back of success in the 400m medley, 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke.

    The 22-year-old, who was cheered on by French president Emmanuel Macron, told BBC Sport: "It has been unbelievable for me this week.

    "I am enjoying every moment of it and this crowd was crazy. I was enjoying everything, it was so cool."

    Marchand, who was just 0.06 seconds shy of the world record, finished ahead of Duncan Scott of Great Britain.

    "He showed his class there, that is very quick," Scott told BBC Sport.

    "What he just went after what has been a busy schedule for the guy – it was special to race him.

    "It is a great way to finish it [his individual events] off."

    There were two medals for France, with Florent Manaudou clinching bronze.

  • France 1-0 Argentina: Mateta header settles Olympics thriller France 1-0 Argentina: Mateta header settles Olympics thriller

    France continued their 100% record at their home Olympics as they defeated Argentina 1-0 to advance to the semi-finals.

    Crystal Palace's Jean-Phillipe Mateta headed in from a cross from his former club-mate Michael Olise five minutes in, and that ultimately proved enough for Thierry Henry's men to progress.

    VAR disallowed France a second late on, but Argentina could not make their fortune count before tempers boiled over between the players at the final whistle.

    Argentina came out on top in the 2022 World Cup final between these great footballing nations, and there were an equal amount of thrills and spills this time around.

    Mateta's early goal set the tone for a dominant display from Les Bleus in the first half, with Enzo Millot going close before Geronimo Rulli denied France's goalscorer a second.

    While Giuliano Simeone should have done better before the break, it was a similar story in the second half as Mateta again met an Olise corner, but this time his header went just over.

    Olise seemed to have capped off a virtuous display with a goal of his own 10 minutes from time, but VAR disallowed the goal for a foul in the build-up.

    Loic Bade struck the woodwork just after, and Claudio Echeverri - just on as a substitute - may have made France pay had he kept his composure with the goal gaping, only to slice over as Les Bleus held on to set up a semi-final against Egypt, who beat Paraguay 5-4 on penalties.

    Data Debrief: France's Palace connection

    Two players who starred at Selhurst Park last season were the main men in Bordeaux on Friday.

    He was a constant threat, taking the most shots for France (three) and contributing 0.35 of their 0.97 expected goals (xG), while also having the joint-most touches inside the box (four, level with Olise).

    Olise shone in a central role behind his former team-mate, creating three chances, the joint-most of any player in the match. 

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