Novak Djokovic is still one step away from his first Olympic victory, but young star Carlos Alcaraz is hoping for the next coup this year.
Grand Slam record champion Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will play for tennis gold in a rematch of the Wimbledon final at Roland Garros on Sunday. Djokovic followed the young Spanish star into the final with a 6:4, 6:2 win over Alexander Zverev’s conqueror Lorenzo Musetti from Italy and is aiming for his first Olympic victory. Alcaraz stormed into the final 54 days after his triumph at the same venue at the French Open with a 6:1, 6:1 win over the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Djokovic (37) gets the chance to take revenge for the lost final at the grass classic in London. Despite his ongoing knee problems, the Serbian tennis star fought his way into an Olympic singles final for the first time ever in a great atmosphere on the packed Court Philippe Chatrier. In 2008 he won bronze, in 2021 he lost in the semifinals to the eventual Olympic champion Zverev and finished fourth.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, is on the verge of his next big triumph this year. In the summer, the world number three already won the Grand Slams in Paris and Wimbledon. In the Olympic doubles, he was knocked out in the quarterfinals alongside Rafael Nadal. “Since the beginning of the year, the goal has been to win gold, now it’s just one match. I want to have fun in the final and get the job done,” said Alcaraz.
After Jordi Arrese in Barcelona in 1992, Sergi Bruguera in Atlanta in 1996 and Nadal, who won gold in Beijing in 2008, Alcaraz is the fourth Spaniard to reach the Olympic singles final. There, the 21-year-old can become the youngest champion since the sport returned to the Olympic program in Seoul in 1988. “The final will be a very special moment in my life and career,” said Alcaraz.
Djokovic, who also defeated Musetti in the semi-finals of Wimbledon, would become only the second player after Andre Agassi to have achieved all the major singles successes with an Olympic victory: number one in the world rankings, victories in the four Grand Slam tournaments, victory in the ATP Finals, gold at the Olympics. Roger Federer only won Olympic gold in doubles, Nadal never won the ATP Finals.
