Alcaraz destroys Auger-Aliassime – Olympic tennis men's singles semi-final recap

Carlos Alcaraz will play the Males’s Singles Gold Medal match on debut on the Olympics.

The No.2 seed produced his greatest show of the match as far as he mercilessly put FAA to the sword to ensure himself and Spain a medal.

The 21-year-old served out to fifteen on a second match level and can now meet both Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti in Sunday’s battle for Gold over Silver.

Felix might want to regroup sharply after a high quality run received him to the semis. He’ll face the loser of the second semi within the Bronze Medal showdown.

This has been an absolute clinic.

Felix stares down the barrel at 15-40 however comes up with a pair of clutch serves – a uncommon sight as we speak – to make deuce.

The issue arises when he goes toe-to-toe from the baseline and finally ends up blinking first with a forehand lengthy.

Alcaraz makes it depend on the third BP with a switch-up to the crosscourt dropper earlier than gliding away the pick-up into the open court docket.

The 21-year-old will now serve for a spot within the Gold Medal match.

The four-time Grand Slam champion is so snug that he may even experiment a bit mid-game.

When it goes unsuitable, he shortly reverts again to Plan A as scientific serving and ferocious forehands do the heavy lifting to assist him consolidate to 30.

An impressive drop shot catches Carlitos out and has the Spaniard giving the Canadian a lingering look of shock on the web.

It paves a path to 40-15 for FAA however the tactic works in opposition to him quickly after when he makes a multitude of the dropper to permit Alcaraz to push at deuce.

It’s déjà vu from the opening set as he goes from 40-15 to interrupt level and after disputing a name on a hammer of a primary serve, he promptly double faults to cough up one other service recreation with a whimper.

Auger-Aliassime hasn’t actually come near placing Alcaraz beneath strain on serve and that theme continues because the Spaniard cruises by one other polished maintain to maintain nudging that board.

He wasn’t unsuitable both. He is been irrepressible in these first 9 video games.

The No.13 seed has among the best serves on Tour when he’s on music, nevertheless it’s been torn to shreds right here.

He hopes that modifications from now as an ace clinches a robust maintain to fifteen to get him again on the board and earn a burst of assist from a crowd wanting to see extra tennis – and (little doubt) extra of the celebrity Alcaraz!

Alcaraz notches up a seventh recreation on the spin as he clinches one other strong maintain with a kind of scrumptious drop photographs.

FAA got here into this semi closing in high quality type having taken down Daniil Medvedev and Casper Ruud within the earlier rounds, however to date as we speak he’s been utterly outclassed.

Alcaraz pulls FAA low to the left facet of the online with a brief crosscourt slice and opens up the angle for a scientific forehand to the other nook of the court docket.

The No.2 seed then clocks up two set factors with a wonderful, low return from deep that Felix can solely jab into the online from an ungainly angle.

The Canadian saves one with a wrong-footing backhand from the forecourt, however he loses a 40-minute, one-sided set on the second when he booms a forehand lengthy.

On Eurosport Comms, Chris Bradnam boldly tells Jo Durie his prediction that we’re a 21-year-old who will do the ‘Grand Slam’ in some unspecified time in the future in his profession.

Alcaraz duly loses the subsequent level, however the view is a really legitimate one.

John McEnroe has beforehand described him as probably the most full 21-year-old the game has ever seen and exhibit A follows to again up the double because the Spaniard dives full stretch to acrobatically block away a volley and seal a recreation to 30.

It’s one other rollercoaster for Felix on serve – and it doesn’t finish nicely for the Canadian.

A powerhouse ace down the T strikes him 30-0 to the great however he leaks a few poor forehand errors from 40-15 to permit Alcaraz one other look-in at deuce.

A miscued, quick forehand proves to be a well timed tonic, however Carlitos retains the warmth on with bewitching disguise on a crosscourt dropshot.

Alcaraz ups the ante additional when he slides right into a rocket of a backhand winner down the road, however the No.2 seed fluffs his traces on the break level with a wild effort off that wing into the tramlines.

FAA coughs up a second instantly because the strain tells and Carlitos pockets the insurance coverage break when unbelievable defence results in his opponent drilling a tired-looking forehand into the online.

It doesn’t really feel like Alcaraz has moved out of second gear but and that might be awfully regarding for FAA proper now.

The Spaniard comfortably retains him at arm’s size by consolidating with a maintain to 30.

The Scot modified his social media standing to ‘I performed tennis’ from ‘I play tennis’ and demonstrated that well-known dry wit with the beneath replace:

Felix should already be questioning what he must do to earn a few low-cost factors right here.

A few glorious smashes put him on the entrance foot at 30-15 however Alcaraz turns a lung-busting rally with a candy backhand down the road that does all of the harm.

The strain will get to the Canadian as a poor miscue coughs up a break level and he folds all-too simply with a double fault.

If the primary recreation was a thriller this was one was all reasonably routine.

Alcaraz has a short dip along with his first double fault of the match, nevertheless it comes at 40-0 and he shortly takes care of enterprise on the subsequent level to ease on to the board.

It’s a thriller of a gap recreation and if this can be a style of what’s to return, we’re in for a deal with.

Felix kicks off with a chic, backhand stun volley however Alcaraz retains pushing again, typically popping out on prime in some brutal forehand exchanges earlier than a mesmerising drop-shot/crosscourt backhand lob combo take him to deuce.

The Canadian resets and lands the hefty first serve to return away unscathed with a morale-boosting maintain.

The winner right here might be assured a medal within the Gold-Medal closing.

FAA received to this stage by taking down Norway’s clay-specialist, Casper Ruud.

That is their seventh assembly and the match-up is intriguingly poised at 3-3.

Alcaraz has received the final three with the newest being a 6-3 6-3 6-1 success in his title run at RG again in Might/June.

Hiya and welcome to LIVE updates of the lads’s singles Olympic semi closing between Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The gamers are on court docket from 12.30 BST.