Tennis legend and Serbian Novak Djokovic will face Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros tomorrow (Sunday) as they both go for Olympic gold which would be a major achievement for either of them.
Djokovic on Friday reached his first Olympic final after defeating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-2 in a tense semi-final.
The Olympic title has remained elusive for the veteran tennis player who has as many as 24 Grand Slam titles to his name.
Sunday’s title match at Roland Garros will be the pair’s seventh meeting and follows Alcaraz’s recent victory against Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
“It’s a huge relief,” said Djokovic, whose only Olympic success was a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008.
“In three out of four Olympics, I played in the semi-final, I won the bronze from the first in Beijing.
“So to secure a higher medal for the first time for my country, whatever happens on Sunday, is a great honour. I’m going for gold. There’s no doubt about it – that’s a big deal.” he said.
The 37-year-old Djokovic, who showed no signs of a right knee injury he aggravated in Thursday’s quarter-final win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, said Alcaraz would be the favourite.
The 21-year-old Spaniard won the French Open title on the same court, Philippe Chatrier, in June.
Noting that he has “nothing to lose,” Djokovic said: “He [Alcaraz] he beat me at Wimbledon. But these are different conditions and I feel like I’m a better player than I was at Wimbledon.”
“I’m going to come out and play my best tennis,” he added.
Djokovic’s burning desire to reach the final boiled over in the second set against Musetti when he was twice booked for serving late.
He was also warned for swearing at the referee.
“I was thinking about all the semi-finals I lost in the Olympics before today’s match and that’s why I was very tense on the court,” admitted Djokovic.
French Open and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz defeated Canada’s Auger-Aliassime in just 75 minutes.
View of gold
Expressing his views on tomorrow’s race, Alcaraz said: “It was a goal from the beginning of the year to try to win the gold medal and now we have a race to try to achieve that.”
The Spanish star broke the 19th-ranked Auger-Aliassime three times in the first set, racing away with six games in a row.
He broke twice in the second set on his way to a fourth straight victory over the Canadian.
“The final is very important for me and the Spanish people, but I try not to think about how important it is and I will focus on the match,” said the Spaniard.
Alcaraz is the fourth Spaniard to reach the Olympic men’s final after Jordi Arrese in Barcelona in 1992, Sergi Bruguera in Atlanta four years later and Rafael Nadal, who won gold in Beijing in 2008.
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