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Musetti ends Italy's 100-year wait, defeats Auger-Aliassime in Paris battle for bronze

  • Posted: Aug 03, 2024

Lorenzo Musetti maintained his excellent form on Saturday with a hard-earned victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the bronze-medal match at the Paris Olympics.

The 22-year-old Italian regained his composure after a mid-match lapse to seal a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 triumph in the bronze-medal clash on Court Philippe Chatrier. Musetti clinched a decisive break in the eighth game of the deciding set to prevail in a match of fine margins and become the first Italian tennis player to win an Olympic medal since Uberto de Morpugo at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Musetti was less clinical than Auger-Aliassime with his chances — the Italian converted three of 12 break points he earned, while the Canadian won three of four — but he stayed mentally composed to pull clear in the final stages of the match. With his two-hour, 17-minute win, he levelled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Auger-Aliassime at 3-3.

The two-time ATP Tour champion Musetti defeated home favourite Gael Monfils, Mariano Navone, Taylor Fritz and defending Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in Paris, before falling to top seed Novak Djokovic in the last four and entering the bronze-medal match against Auger-Aliassime.

The No. 16 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Musetti has won 22 of 28 matches since the start of Roland Garros in late May. That tally includes runs to the championship match at ATP Tour events at the Queen’s Club and in Umag, and he also reached his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon last month.

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Ebden/Peers dig deep for gold in Paris Olympic final

  • Posted: Aug 03, 2024

Matthew Ebden and John Peers pulled off a stirring comeback and fended off some Match Tie-break tension on Saturday afternoon in Paris. Now, they are Olympic champions.

The unseeded Australian pair defeated Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7(6), 7-6(1), 10-8 in the gold-medal match. After recovering from a set and a break down, Ebden and Peers produced some of their best tennis of the teams’ maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter to clinch victory and spark joyous celebrations on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

“It’s trippy. It’s more than a dream. I didn’t even dream of winning a gold medal growing up or whatever,” said two-time Grand Slam champion Ebden. “The last few years, I had great success on the doubles court. It gave a lot of belief and confidence coming in here.”

Peers was asked about the reaction of his two young daughters, who were in the crowd: “They’re going to be talking about this one until we’re 100.”

Neither team had dropped a set en route to the final and the fourth-seeded Krajicek and Ram were on track to complete a perfect week in the French capital when they led by a set and a break. Yet just as they had in the opening set, Ebden and Peers rallied from 2-4 to force a tie-break in the second. This time they won it, and they then produced a masterful Match Tie-break display.

The Australians charged into a 9/5 lead in the decider, but they were made to sweat as Krajicek and Ram saved the first three of their opponents’ four gold-medal points. Ebden and Peers kept their cool to convert the fourth, however, and claim the gold medal in just their fifth event as a team.

With their two-hour, four-minute triumph, the two 36-year-olds won Australia’s second gold medal in Olympic Tennis Event history. The No. 3 and No. 59 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, respectively, Ebden and Peers join ATP Tour greats Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, who triumphed at Atlanta 1996, as Australian Olympic tennis champions.

“It’s an absolute honour anytime I get mentioned in the same breath as those two, they paved the way for us,” said Peers of Woodbridge and Woodforde. “They’ve always been there for us.”

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In the bronze-medal match, Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul earned their spot on an Olympic podium for the first time by overcoming Czech duo Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek 6-3, 6-4.

The power of Top 20 singles players Fritz and Paul proved decisive in the 70-minute match. The third seeds fired 23 winners and converted three of 11 break points they earned to ensure that the United States leaves Paris 2024 with two men’s tennis medals.

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/03/14/01/fritz-paul-paris-olympics-2024-bronze-celebration.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Taylor Fritz/Tommy Paul” />

Long-time friends Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul celebrate after winning bronze at the Paris Olympics. Photo Credit: Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images

Olympic debutant Fritz and his partner Paul were contesting their second tour-level semi-final as a pair, having also reached that stage on the Queen’s Club grass in 2022. After Krajicek and Ram earlier claimed silver, Fritz and Paul are the sixth American team to win a men’s doubles medal since the Olympic Tennis Event returned in 1988.

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Golden Boy vs. Gold Standard: Alcaraz meets Djokovic in Olympic final

  • Posted: Aug 03, 2024

Sunday’s Paris Olympics final will be a battle for the ages: 37-year-old Novak Djokovic, the oldest man to play in a gold medal match, against 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest.

With a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 40 ATP Masters 1000s and 428 weeks atop the PIF ATP Rankings, Djokovic has become the gold standard in men’s tennis — the aspirational measuring stick for the game’s next generation of stars. Alcaraz is rapidly working his way toward those historic numbers. With four major titles before his 22nd birthday, the golden boy is ahead of the pace set by Djokovic and the Big 3.

“Obviously it’s a really great start of my career, but I have to keep going,” the Spaniard said after beating Djokovic in July’s Wimbledon final. “I have to keep building my path. At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys. That’s my main goal. That’s my dream right now.”

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For Djokovic, the Olympics are a rare occasion, and not just because they are held every four years. The event provides an opportunity for the great champion to chase a title he has never won before. Since he completed the Career Golden Masters — winning each ATP Masters 1000 at least once — at Cincinnati in 2018, Olympic gold remains the only ‘Big Title’ missing from his collection.

“This is a big deal,” Djokovic said after easing past Lorenzo Musetti to reach his first gold medal match. A bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Djokovic has not been on the podium since, finishing fourth in 2012 (London) and 2021 (Tokyo), either side of a shock first-round exit in 2016 (Rio de Janeiro).

After overcoming knee concerns to beat Musetti, Djokovic fell onto his back at Roland Garros in a celebratory scene usually reserved for a final. 

“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.”

Debutant Alcaraz has receive a crash course in Olympic tennis this week, competing with Rafael Nadal in doubles alongside his singles run. Despite his youth, the significance of Sunday’s final is clear.

“It’s going to be a really special moment for me, in my life, in my career,” Alcaraz said after cruising past Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semis. “So I’m going to try and enjoy this moment, because it’s going to be really difficult.”

The task would have seemed even harder hours later, after Djokovic displayed some of his best tennis in dispatching Musetti. But on recent form, Alcaraz is “definitely a favourite” — at least according to Djokovic.

Alcaraz won both of his Wimbledon titles at Djokovic’s expense in the final, including a straight-sets domination less than a month ago. But the Serbian prevailed in their third championship match, winning a third-set tie-break last year in a Cincinnati epic. Djokovic also took their only previous meeting on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where they will do battle on Sunday. All told, the rivals have split six previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings. 

Both men have lifted the title at Roland Garros, the site of this year’s Olympic Tennis Event. Only one can claim his first gold medal.

Sunday’s final is scheduled for not before 2 p.m. CEST/8 a.m. EDT.

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Korda cruises to Washington SFs, making most of new life in D.C.

  • Posted: Aug 03, 2024

After saving two match points at the Mubadala Citi DC Open against Thanasi Kokkinakis, Sebastian Korda earned a far more straightforward victory against another Aussie on Friday. With a 6-4, 6-2 result against Jordan Thompson, the fourth-seeded American advanced to his fourth semi-final of the season.

The victory saw Korda move back to. No 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, a mark that would match his career-high PIF ATP Ranking from June. The 24-year-old can move up to No. 18 if he matches his father, Petr Korda (1992), by winning the Washington title.

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In his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Thompson, Korda hit 10 aces and saved the lone break point against him, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He awaits top seed Andrey Rublev or fifth seed Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals.

The opposite semi-final will see second seed Ben Shelton take on 10th seed Flavio Cobolli.

 

Shelton led the resurgent Denis Shapovalov 7-6(5), 6-6(6-3), and had triple match point when the Canadian was defaulted after making a comment to a fan. By coming through the all-lefty battle, the American improved to 4-0 in quarter-finals on home soil and improved his season record to 26-16 — equalling his win tally from 2023, his first full year on the ATP Tour.

Cobolli was a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(2) winner against #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen. The 22-year-old Italian, who competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF last November, saved five match points against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round to reach his first ATP 500 quarter-final. He is now through to his second tour-level semi-final overall, after reaching that stage in Geneva in May.

Cobolli is up six places this week to No. 42 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for a career high. He will crack the Top 40 with one more win and will enter the Top 30 with his first title.

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When is the Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic Olympic tennis gold medal match?

  • Posted: Aug 03, 2024

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will go head-to-head in the Olympic Tennis Event singles gold medal match on Sunday, with the match scheduled for not before 2 p.m. CEST/8 a.m. EDT.

Djokovic and Alcaraz, Nos. 2 and 3 respectively in the PIF ATP Rankings, recently met in the Wimbledon final, where the Spaniard defeated his older rival for the second consecutive year. Their Lexus ATP Head2Head series is level at 3-3.

Djokovic won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Alcaraz, who is making his Olympics debut, is looking to extended his rich vein of form, which as seen him win Roland Garros and Wimbledon coming into the Olympics.

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View Alcaraz vs. Djokovic Lexus ATP Head2Head breakdown

 

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