The semi-finals of the men’s singles tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics have been decided. There were two major upsets in the quarterfinals, but the final four places are Serbia’s No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic, Italy’s No. 11 seed Lorenzo Musetti, Canada’s No. 13 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Spain’s No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz.
Musetti and Auger-Aliassime both entered the tournament after upsetting third-seeded Alexander Zverev and sixth-seeded Kasper Ruud, respectively. Musetti lost to the Italian in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5, on Thursday at Roland Garros, home of the French Open in Paris. Ruud held Auger-Aliassime to three sets but ultimately lost to the 23-year-old Canadian 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3.
Auger-Aliassime is the first Canadian player to reach the quarterfinals of an Olympic singles match and now he is in the semifinals. He nearly beat Ruud in straight sets but couldn’t convert a match point in the second set. He will face Alcaraz in the semifinals.
Alcaraz is fresh off a commanding win over the last remaining American in singles, ninth-seeded Tommy Paul. The favorite to win the tournament, Alcaraz defeated Paul in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (7). Auger-Aliassime will have a very hard time beating him, but the two have split their six previous meetings, with Alcaraz meeting on clay in the only match.
The 22-year-old Musetti defeated Zverev, the 2020 Olympic champion who was seeking to become just the second player in history to win consecutive Olympic singles gold medals. Musetti broke Zverev’s opening serve and never let up on the pressure en route to victory.
He’ll face Djokovic, who is still shy of his first Olympic gold medal, has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, more than anyone else, and has won on the clay courts of Roland Garros three times, most recently in 2023. He has struggled with injuries recently and is without a Grand Slam win in 2024, the first time that would be the case since 2017.
Three of the remaining four will win singles medals in Paris, with the two semifinal losers playing for the bronze medal. Many are predicting a Djokovic-Alcaraz final in this tournament, and it certainly could happen, but both players would have to be prepared for an upset after their opponents beat the likes of Zverev and Ruud.
The men’s singles semi-finals are scheduled for Friday, August 2, and will feature Peacock and NBCOlympics.comThe first of the two matches will be a morning showdown between Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime, who are scheduled to play on Court Philippe Chatrier in the early hours of the morning, currently scheduled for around 7:30 a.m. ET, before Djokovic and Musetti take on the same court at 1 p.m.
2024 Paris Olympics Tennis Men’s Singles Semifinals
No. 13 Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz (6-7:30 a.m. ET)
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 11 Lorenzo Musetti (around 1 p.m. ET)
