PARIS: When Carlos Alcaraz attempts to add Olympic gold to his four Grand Slam wins at Roland Garros on Sunday, he said it will be a “special moment for me in my life in my career.”
After defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 6-1, 6-1 in just 75 minutes on Friday, the 21-year-old made history as the youngest player to make it to the Olympics final. In Sunday’s gold medal match, provided the top-seeded Serb recovers from a knee ailment, he will face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the second semi-final. Alcaraz declared, “I’m going to try and enjoy this moment because the final is going to be a really special moment for me, in my life, in my career.” It will be challenging, but it will also be unique. I’ll make an effort to keep my attention on myself and ignore the supporters and everyone who says, “I’m going to win.”
“I just want to play tennis to the best of my ability and hopefully I can win the gold.” Playing on the same Roland Garros court where he won his first French Open in June, Spanish player Alcaraz broke 19th-ranked Auger-Aliassime three times in the opening set, winning six straight games.
After losing the opening three games of the pair’s series, Alcaraz defeated the Canadian for the fourth time in a row by breaking again in the fourth and sixth games of the second set. Alcaraz remarked, “I played at a very high level from start to finish and it was a very complete performance.” “I’m really happy; I had wonderful sensations and feelings.”
“I try not to think about how important it is and will focus on the match,” he continued, “but the final is very important for me and the Spanish people.” Alcaraz, the winner of Wimbledon, is the fourth Spaniard to make it to the men’s Olympic final, following Rafael Nadal in Beijing in 2008, Jordi Arrese in Barcelona in 1992, and Sergi Bruguera in Atlanta four years later.