Novak Djokovic is set to face off against Carlos Alcaraz in Saturday’s men’s singles gold-medal match, in what will be a rematch of last month’s Wimbledon final. Djokovic, holder of a men’s record 24 Grand Slam titles, secured his place in the Olympic final for the first time by defeating Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 6-2.
The 37-year-old Serbian, who recently lost in straight sets to Alcaraz at the All England Club, has claimed every major singles title except for an Olympic gold. Despite finishing fourth in Tokyo three years ago and clinching bronze at Beijing in 2008, this will be Djokovic’s first Olympic final appearance.
Djokovic’s straightforward victory was a stark contrast to his intense match on the same court against Musetti at the French Open two months ago, which culminated in a five-set showdown concluding at 03:07 local time. He is now poised to take on Spanish second seed Alcaraz, who dominated Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1 6-1 in the other semi-final. Alcaraz, at only 21 years old, is preparing for his third major final, having previously triumphed at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Other Results
Elsewhere, world number one Iga Swiatek captured the bronze medal in the women’s tournament. Swiatek, who had been devastated after her 25-match winning streak on the Paris clay was halted by China’s Zheng Qinwen, delivered a commanding performance against Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to secure Olympic bronze in just 61 minutes. This victory not only marked Poland’s first Olympic tennis medal but also added to Swiatek’s collection of five Grand Slam titles.
In the mixed doubles event, the Czech duo of Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac clinched the gold by overcoming China’s Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen in a thrilling encounter that concluded 6-2 5-7 10-8. Meanwhile, Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski secured the bronze by defeating Demi Schuurs and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands.
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