Imperious Alcaraz one step away from historic gold

Carlos Alcaraz is one victory away from becoming the youngest man to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal afer beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1 6-1 in the Paris Games semi-finals.

Alcaraz, 21, already owns four Grand Slam titles – including in June at Roland Garros, the clay-court facility being used for tennis at these Games – and is about a month younger than Vincent Richards was when the American claimed the gold in Paris in 1924.

Alcaraz was absolutely dominant. I have never faced a break point. I have won the point on 10 of 11 trips to the net. He made just 13 unforced errors, 10 fewer than Auger-Aliassime, who also lost to the Spaniard at this year’s French Open. It all took him little over an hour on court.

“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,” Auger-Aliassime said . “Every aspect. The movement. The defense. I was dominated.”

Alcaraz has won 12 consecutive matches at Roland Garros and collected a second consecutive title at Wimbledon last month, too. He defeated 24-time Slam champion Novak Djokovic in both of those finals at the All England Club, and there could be a rematch for the men’s gold on Sunday.

That’s because Djokovic, the 37-year-old from Serbia, was scheduled to play Lorenzo Musetti, of Italy, in Friday’s second Olympic semi-final.

It was unclear how fit Djokovic would be for that match, because he felt what he described as “sharp pain” in his surgically repaired right knee while getting past Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals on Thursday night.

Musetti eliminated Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Alexander Zverev.