Novak Djokovic finally got his hands on an Olympic gold medal as he came through two tie-breaks to beat Carlos Alcaraz at Roland-Garros.

In a match that lasted almost three hours, the 24-time grand slam champion edged a thrilling contest 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) in the French capital. 

In a repeat of their Wimbledon showdown last month, the pair traded blows in the opening games as they tried to gain the early advantage. 

Alcaraz would be the first to blink, handing Djokovic three chances to break in the third game, but the Serb was unable to grasp that opportunity. 

The 21-year-old would then miss three chances to take the lead himself in the following game as the gripping contest continued to ebb and flow on Court Philippe-Chatrier. 

In the ninth game, Djokovic saved five break points, to gain the momentum heading into the first-set tie-break where he would emerge the victor. 

The second set told a similar story to the first, with Alcaraz squandering a break of serve in the third game, with both holding their serves.

And as he did in the first, Djokovic showcased all of his experience, claiming the triumph with a powerful forehand.

Djokovic finally achieves the full set

Having claimed bronze at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Djokovic now has that gold medal that has proved elusive over the past 16 years. 

The Serb showed in the first set his powers of recovery to save all eight of the break points he faced, finally getting one over his recent kryptonite on the court. 

At 37 years and 74 days, Djokovic is the oldest player to secure a gold medal in either the men's or women's singles at the Olympics.

Djokovic's victory also saw him become the fourth player to defeat multiple grand slam champions on route to winning the gold medal in the men's singles at the Olympics, after Nicolas Massu (2004), Rafael Nadal (2008) and Andy Murray (2012).

He is now only the second player in the Open Era to have won all four grand slams, the gold medal at the Olympics and the ATP Tour Finals, along with Andre Agassi.

Alcaraz down, but certainly not out

For Alcaraz, it was yet another impressive showing, but even he was unable to stand in the way of Djokovic claiming the prize he craved the most. 

Having levelled the second-set tie-break at 3-3, the Spaniard looked the favourite to go on and take it to a decider, but you can never count out a man who has 24 grand slam titles to his name. 

Alcaraz missed the opportunity to become only the second player to defeat Djokovic in ATP-level event finals on grass and clay courts, with many hoping to see another battle between two of tennis' brightest stars in the future. 

Despite the defeat, he is still the only player to claim multiple ATP top-five wins on each of clay, grass and hard court in consecutive years. John McEnroe (1984) is the only other player to achieve the feat in a single season. 

Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo claimed bronze in the women's doubles at the Paris Olympics, beating the Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.  

The Spaniards dominated proceedings from start to finish, coming through in straight sets 6-2 6-2 in an hour and 13 minutes at Roland-Garros. 

Bucsa and Sorribes showed their intent from the start, breaking the Czech's serve in the opening game to claim the early advantage. 

While Muchova and Noskova improved, the Spanish pairing were able to find another break to take the encounter to 5-2, going on to claim the first set at a canter. 

The Czechs missed two opportunities to take the opening game of the second, but allowed their opponents to break their serve once again and race into a 3-0 lead. 

From then on, Bucsa and Sorribes never looked back, winning the final three games in a row to claim Spain's first medal of the day, with Carlos Alcaraz in action against Novak Djokovic in the men's singles final. 

The women's doubles gold medal match will see Italy's Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani face Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, who are competing as Individual Neutral Athletes. 

Data Debrief: Spain off to a fine start in the days tennis

With Alcaraz guaranteed to bring home a medal for Spain, Bucsa and Sorribes ensured there was double delight for the nation in the French capital. 

In a one-sided affair, the Spaniards converted five of the nine break points they had, while also winning seven of their service games compared to the Czechs' two. 

Marie Bouzkova produced an unlikely upset against top seed Aryna Sabalenka to reach the final of the Washington Open in an encounter affected by weather delays. 

After being 2-1 down in the third set before lightning and rain stopped play for three and a half hours, Bouzkova rallied to win 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the American capital. 

A double break in the first set from Bouzkova saw the Czech hold the early advantage, only for her opponent to respond, serving three of her eight aces to take the second.

But upon returning to the court after the delay, Bouzkova broke Sabalenka's serve in the first game before breaking again to take a 5-3 lead. 

The world number 29 closed out the victory against the Australian Open champion with a love game, setting up a meeting with Paula Badosa, who won in straight sets against home hopeful Caroline Dolehide. 

Lorenzo Musetti beat Felix Auger-Aliassime to win bronze in the men's singles at the Paris Olympics.

Musetti, who was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, prevailed 6-4 1-6 6-3 on Saturday at Roland-Garros.

It marked a historic success for Italy, bringing up the nation's first tennis player to win a medal at the Olympics since Uberto de Morpugo in 1924, with those Games having also taken place in Paris.

While Auger-Aliassime leaves empty-handed from the singles, he did win bronze in the mixed doubles.

Prior to Musetti's triumph, Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz won in straight sets to claim the bronze medal in the men's doubles, beating Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek.

After falling to defeat to eventual gold medallists Matthew Ebden and John Peers in the semi-finals, the American duo dusted themselves down to claim a 6-3 6-4 victory.

Paul and Fritz controlled the opening set, earning a double break in the sixth game and, despite losing the next two, held on to take the early advantage. 

The Americans squandered three match points to seal the win, but confirmed their place on the podium in the 10th game, with Team USA taking home two medals from the doubles after Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram's silver earlier in the day. 

It was not all doom and gloom for Czechia, though, with Machac and Katerina Siniakova having claimed gold in the mixed doubles on Friday.

Qinwen Zheng claimed a historic victory over Donna Vekic at the Paris Olympics as she won gold in the women's singles.

China's Zheng, who ousted world number one and three-time reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek at Roland-Garros en route to the final, prevailed 6-2 6-3 in Saturday's final.

It makes the 21-year-old the first Asian-born player to win gold in the women's or men's singles at the Games since tennis was first introduced to the Olympics in 1896.

Zheng started the encounter fiercely, earning an early break in the second game and raced into a 3-0 lead on Court PhilippeChatrier. 

The world number seven would stay in cruise control for the remainder of the opener, seeing out her service games before ending the set with another break. 

Zheng threatened to take the match away from Vekic in double quick time as she again found a swift break of serve in the second set.

Croatia's Vekic responded well, though, hitting back by reeling off back-to-back games.

However, a break at the fourth time of asking to make it 5-3 proved decisive for Zheng, who duly served out to clinch gold.

Data Debrief: 

Zheng's triumph saw her become the second player to win the women's singles at the Olympics on clay after Jennifer Capriati (1992), since the sport's reintroduction to the Games in 1988.

She has now won 28 matches out of 36 (77.77) on the surface since the start of 23. Among players with 10+ matches played on clay in that time, only three have a better win percentage - Swiatek (91.7%), Elena Rybakina (85.2%) and Aryna Sabalenka (80.6%).

Zheng is the first Chinese player in the Open Era to claim a medal in the women's or men's singles at the Olympics, while she also joined an elite list of women to have reached the finals of the Olympics and the Australian Open in the same season. 

Steffi Graf (1988), Justine Henin (2004), Maria Sharapova (2012) and Angelique Kerber (2016) are the other players to have achieved that feat.

Matthew Ebden and John Peers were crowned Olympic champions in the men's doubles after their victory over the United States' Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram. 

The Australian duo came from a set down to win on Court Philippe Chatrier in just over two hours, emerging 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-1) 10-8 victors at Roland-Garros. 

Krajicek and Ram would start well, winning a break point in the sixth game, only for their Australian opponents to respond instantly to level the encounter at 4-4. 

With both pairs holding their serve for the remainder, a tie-break would decide who would take the first set, with the Americans able to obtain the early advantage. 

Krajicek and Ram found another early break in the second, but again saw their lead vanish as Ebden and Peers rallied to win three consecutive games. 

The Australian's took the game to a second tie-break, producing some stunning tennis along the way as the encounter went the distance in the French capital. 

Ebden and Peers would carry their momentum into the decider, and despite missing four gold medal points, were able to hold on to secure the triumph. 

Data Debrief: Australia strike gold at Roland-Garros

Ebden and Peers showed grit and determination worthy of winning a gold medal, coming from a set down to scoop the top prize.

The Australian's impressed on serve, scoring nine aces compared to Krajicek and Ram's six, winning 73% of their first-serve points. 

World number one Iga Swiatek and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova headlined a number of players to withdraw from the Canadian Open next week. 

Swiatek, who became the first player from Poland to win an Olympic medal in tennis history at the Paris Games on Friday, withdrew due to fatigue. 

Meanwhile, Krejcikova, who returned to the top 10 in the world rankings after her success at the All England Club, cited a thigh injury for her decision not to travel to Canada.

"I'm sorry to announce that due to overall fatigue caused by the last couple of weeks on the court I need to withdraw from the tournament in Toronto," Swiatek said in a Tennis Canada news release.

"Due to an intense tennis schedule with the Olympics taking place this year and changing surfaces, I need more time to rest and recover in order to be ready to play the US swing in good health and at my best possible level."

Krejcikova was beaten in the quarter-finals in both the singles and doubles at the Games, and said she is looking after her health ahead of the U.S. Open.

"The past four weeks have been incredible; however, the intense schedule has taken a toll on my body, and I need to prioritise my health to ensure I can continue competing at my best," said Krejcikova.

"Thank you for your understanding and support, and I look forward to returning to the court soon."

Tennis Canada said other withdrawals included Jasmine Paolini, Maria Sakkari, Danielle Collins and Caroline Garcia following their participation in the Paris Olympics.

"We understand the unique honour of athletes in an individual sport representing their country at the Olympic Games and that players must do what is best for them in terms of their health, recovery and schedules," said Karl Hale, director of the Canadian Open.

Past grand slam champions Sofia Kenin and Slone Stephens moved into the main draw for the Toronto tournament.

The NBO's men's tournament in Montreal took a hit earlier this week with the announcement that both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz would also be missing the event.

Aryna Sabalenka expressed her delight at overcoming a "tough" match with Victoria Azarenka to advance to the semi-finals of the Washington Open in straight sets. 

World number three Sabalenka needed an hour and 45 minutes to get past her fellow compatriot, prevailing 6-4 6-4 to progress to the next round. 

The two-time grand slam champion served eight aces compared to Azarenka's one, and although the encounter looked one-sided, it was anything but for Sabalenka. 

"Always tough battles against her," Sabalenka said. "She always brings the best fight she can.

"I always enjoy playing against her. Just super happy to get through this tough match.

"I feel like with every set, I play better and better. Hopefully I can just (keep) building my level and by the US Open, I'll be 100 percent ready."

Sabalenka claimed her second Australian Open title earlier this year, but was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon with a shoulder problem. 

However, the Belarusian showed no signs of injuries in the American capital and is confident of maintaining her recent form. 

"I'm super happy. I'm doing really great so far. Fingers crossed, the injury's in the past. I feel really good," Sabalenka said. 

"We're doing everything we can with my team to keep my shoulder strong and make sure (such an injury) will never happen again."

Top seed Sabalenka advanced to Saturday's semi-final where she will meet Marie Bouzkova, who beat 19-year-old American Robin Montgomery in straight sets. 

Paula Badosa lauded Emma Raducanu for pushing her all the way in a three-set encounter at the Washington Open.

Badosa, the world number 62, ended Raducanu's promising run in the American capital with a 4-6 7-5 6-4 triumph on Friday.

The Spaniard needed two hours and 45 minutes to overcome the 2021 US Open champion and reach her first semi-final of the season.

"She was playing amazing, honestly," Badosa said after meeting Raducanu for the first time.

"She took me to the limit in all the phases; physically, mentally, tennis-wise. I knew I had to play very aggressive.

"In the beginning, I was missing a little bit so I had to adjust. She was also making me miss. She's very, very fast. I never played her, so it's the first time I experienced her.

"I was surprised how smart she is on court and I like the way she plays."

Badosa will next face Caroline Dolehide, who beat Amanda Anisimova in straight sets.

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.

Carlos Alcaraz is relishing what will be a "special moment" in his already remarkable career as he prepares for an Olympic gold medal match.

Alcaraz defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1 6-1 on Friday to take his place in the final of the men's singles, which will take place at Roland-Garros on Sunday.

And standing in the way of the Spaniard, who won the French Open earlier this year, and a gold medal is 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic.

Like Alcaraz, the 37-year-old Djokovic is into his maiden final at the Games, having previously claimed bronze in 2008.

Alcaraz, who beat Djokovic in the final of Wimbledon in July, would be the youngest-ever champion of the men's singles should he triumph. He is the second-youngest male to have made it into a singles final at the Games, after Robert LeRoy in 1904.

"It's going to be a really special moment for me, in my life, in my career, so I'm going to try and enjoy this moment, because it’s going to be really difficult," Alcaraz said.

"It's going to be difficult, but it’s going to be special.

"I will try to be focused on myself and try not to hear all this, all the fans, all the people that say 'I'm going to win'.

"I just want to give 100% my best tennis and hopefully I reach my goal to get the gold."

Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, conceded he was simply second best.

He said: "I just couldn't find a way to be comfortable in any pattern, any position.

"Whether it was trying to dominate the forehand cross-court or change of direction, the forehand inside-out, the backhand side.

"Every aspect. The movement. The defence. I was dominated.

"He's improved a lot, every time we've played. I don't have the solutions right now."

Auger-Aliassime swiftly shrugged off his disappointment by winning the bronze medal match alongside Gabriela Dabrowski in the mixed doubles.

Their success against Dutch pair Wesley Koolhof and Demi Schuurs marked Canada's first medal in the mixed doubles.

Andy Murray is immensely proud of what he achieved after his return from life-altering hip surgery in 2019.

Murray, a three-time major champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist, retired from tennis after his doubles campaign at the Paris Games came to an end on Thursday.

The 37-year-old and his partner Dan Evans lost to American duo Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in straight sets.

When reviewing his career after the hip surgery in 2019, Murray spoke of his pride in achieving victories against some of the brightest talent that the sport has to offer in the years that followed.

He also looked back fondly on the 46th and final title of his career, which came in Antwerp against great rival and fellow three-time slam champion Stanislas Wawrinka.

"Winning the trophy in Antwerp was great and although the results certainly weren't consistent I did have wins against quite a lot of players who are up at the top of the game – [Carlos] Alcaraz, [Jannik] Sinner, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, [Hubert] Hurkacz," Murray told BBC Sport.

And Murray doubts whether a similar comeback will be seen again.

"To do that with a metal hip, I don't know if that will happen again or not," he added.

"I was the first to try to do it and although it didn't go perfectly I was able to have what many players would consider a pretty successful four or five years."

Though Murray acknowledges the challenges he faced playing with a resurfaced hip, he remains content with how he was able to compete well into his thirties. 

"It wasn’t the same as it was before but that's what I’m most proud of – I was able to come back and play at the highest level with a pretty significant physical limitation," he said.

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.

Iga Swiatek bounced back from her semi-final disappointment to win the bronze medal at the Olympic Games with a straight-sets victory over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

The world number one put Thursday's stunning defeat behind her in ruthless fashion, taking just 61 minutes to dispatch the Slovakian 6-2 6-1 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Swiatek made a shaky start to the match, losing her serve on the third game to go 2-1 behind.

She found her fight soon after though, getting three consecutive breaks as she went on a five-game winning run to take the first set.

Swiatek gave barely any openings in the second, asserting her dominance once more as she put together another impressive winning streak by getting two more breaks.

On the court where she has won each of her four French Open titles, she made sure she came away with the prize on offer.

Data Debrief: Swiatek makes history at Roland-Garros

Swiatek may have been tipped by most to win gold at the Olympics, but she made sure she did not leave Paris empty-handed.

She is the first player from Poland to win an Olympic medal in tennis history, and the fourth world number one to medal since the WTA rankings were introduced.

Carlos Alcaraz stormed into the Olympic Games final with a dominant straight-sets win over Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday.

The Spaniard wasted no time booking his place in the gold-medal match, cruising through 6-1 6-1 in just 76 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Auger-Aliassime won the first game on his serve, but it was all one-way traffic after that, as Alcaraz won the next six in a row to take the first set in just 40 minutes.

Like in the first, the Canadian won his opening service game in the second set, but he had no answers as Alcaraz produced one of his best performances of the season.

He did not face a single break point, winning the last five games in a row as he successfully earned two breaks of his own, dragging Auger-Aliassime from corner to corner with dynamic play.

Alcaraz, who has already won the French Open and Wimbledon this year, is now guaranteed a medal, and he will face either Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti in the showpiece.

Data Debrief: Is there any stopping Alcaraz?

It has already been a banner year for the 21-year-old, with two grand slams under his belt, and if he clinches gold, he will become just the second player alongside Rafael Nadal (2008) to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympics in the same year.

He is also the second-youngest men's singles finalist at the Olympic Games in tennis history, older only than Robert LeRoy in St. Louis 1904, and the youngest since tennis returned to the Olympics schedule in 1988. 

Alcaraz has won each of his last 12 matches and is now just one match away from writing even more history.