Djokovic, Alcaraz Will Play for Men's Singles Gold at Olympics

When Novak Djokovic's first berth in an Olympics tennis final was secured, when he was assured of a chance to win the gold medal that's missing from his lengthy list of accomplishments, he fell back on the clay, limbs spread apart — the sort of pose generally reserved for securing a championship.
“This,” he said after beating Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-4, 6-2 by taking the last four games, “is a big deal.”
Already the owner of a men's-record 24 Grand Slam titles and more weeks at No. 1 in the rankings than anyone in tennis history, Djokovic will try to add to his legacy when he faces Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday in the men's singles title match, The Associated Press reported.
Alcaraz was even more dominant in Friday's semifinals, eliminating Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 6-1, 6-1.
Djokovic is 37, which makes him the oldest man to play in a Summer Games tennis final. Alcaraz is 21, which makes him the youngest.
“The way he’s playing, he’s definitely a favorite,” said Djokovic, who came into Friday 0-3 in Olympics semifinals.
Djokovic's best medal to date for Serbia was a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. Now he'll do no worse than a silver.
“Just to secure a higher medal for the first time for my country, whatever happens on Sunday, is a huge, obviously pride and honor and happiness — and that’s why I celebrated the way I did,” he said. “I still need to celebrate, because it’s a big success, of course.”
Was Musetti surprised to see the way Djokovic reacted?
“I know how much it means for ‘Nole’ to win a gold, to win a medal, of course,” Musetti replied, using Djokovic's nickname. “So, no, absolutely not.”
The final will be a rematch of the past two Wimbledon finals, each won by Alcaraz, including three weeks ago.
“It’s always really difficult facing Novak in every round,” Alcaraz said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the first round or final.”
The Spaniard has four Grand Slam titles, one of which came in June at the French Open, the clay-court tournament held at Roland Garros, the site Olympics tennis is being played this year.
Djokovic got injured during the French Open, tearing the meniscus in his right knee and having surgery on June 5. He felt what he described as “sharp pain” while getting past Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals Thursday night, but he seemed fine — and said he was — against Musetti after a lot of work with his physiotherapist to prepare.
“It didn’t bother me at all” Friday, Djokovic said, “so I'm really glad there’s nothing serious about it.”
He acknowledged feeling nervy and seemed that way, bothered by things such as the wind or the footing or the chair umpire calling him twice for time violations and then warning him for an audible obscenity. Over and over, Djokovic gestured at his team up in the stands, muttering or even yelling.
But his tennis was on point, other than when he got broken to begin the second set. Still, he quickly regrouped.
“He deserved to win,” said Musetti who also lost to Djokovic at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2024.
Earlier, with dozens of spectators waving red-and-yellow Spanish flags at Court Philippe Chatrier or yelling “Vamos, Carlos!” on a cloudy afternoon — and a soundtrack provided during breaks in the action by a brass band in the stands — Alcaraz was superb against Auger-Aliassime.
He never faced a break point. He 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 Alcaraz at this year’s French Open.
“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.”
Later Friday, Auger-Aliassime went back on court and teamed with Gabriela Dabrowski to give Canada the bronze in mixed doubles with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win over Demi Schuurs and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands. The Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac beat China's Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen 6-2, 5-7 (8) for gold.

To get a sense of the real race Afghanistan's lone woman at the Olympic track meet is running, one only needed to look at the back of her bib.

On it, in handwritten script, were the words, spelled like this: “Eduction" and "Our Rights.”

Women and girls in Afghanistan have suffered immensely since Kimia Yousofi's home country was taken over by the Taliban in August 2021. A United Nations report last year said the country has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls, who are deprived of virtually all their basic rights, The AP reported.

“I think I feel a responsibility for Afghan girls because they can’t talk,” Yousofi said Friday after finishing last in her 100-meter preliminary heat.

Her 13.42-second sprint down the track was not the main point of this trip. Yousofi's story was a bracing illustration of how these trips to the Olympics aren't always about winning and losing.

“I’m not a politics person, I just do what I think is true,” Yousofi said. “I can talk with media. I can be the voice of Afghan girls. I (can) tell (people) what they want — they want basic rights, education and sports.”

Before she was born, Yousofi's parents fled Afghanistan during the Taliban's previous rule. She and her three brothers were born and raised in neighboring Iran.

In 2012, when she was 16, Yousofi took part in a talent search for Afghan immigrant girls living in Iran. She later returned to Afghanistan to train for a chance to represent the country at the 2016 Olympics. These are her third Games.

But after the Taliban took over her country again, at around the time the Tokyo Games started, she moved to Australia with the help of officials there and the International Olympic Committee. She has been living in Sydney, trying to get better at speaking English. When she goes back, she will start looking for a job.

Had she sought one, she almost certainly would have earned a place on the Olympic refugee team that is designed for displaced athletes like her.

But she wanted to represent her country, flaws and all, with a hope that this trip to the Olympics will help shine a light on the way women are treated there.

“This is my flag, this is my country," she said. “This is my land.”

Djokovic, Alcaraz Will Play for Men's Singles Gold at Olympics