The victory that Carlos Alcaraz achieved in the semi-final of the Paris 2024 tournament could not have been more imposing or emphatic.
During his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime, the thirteenth seed, the Spaniard only lost two games, defeating the Canadian by scores of 6-1 and 6-1 to assure that he would win a medal.
There is little doubt that Alcaraz has his sights set on gold, but he has already accomplished a great deal of history and has continued a string of victories at the Spanish Olympic Games.
After reaching the final of the men’s singles competition at the Olympic Games, the 21-year-old becomes the fourth Spaniard to do so.
Barcelona, in the year 1992, Jordi Arrese
Arrese, who was one of the most unexpected Olympic finalists of the modern age, astonished his home supporters with an incredible run to the final in Barcelona 32 years ago.
There was not much anticipation for the 27-year-old player, who was seeded sixteenth in the draw, but he managed to advance to the final four on home soil by defeating players such as Renzo Furlan and Leonardo Lavalle.
And in a semi-final match that came as a complete surprise, he prevailed over Andrei Cherkasov in four sets to ensure that he would win a medal.
Georgia, Sergi Bruguera, in the year 1996
Former world No 3 Bruguera is most renowned for winning consecutive French Open titles in 1993 and 1994, yet can also claim to be an Olympic medallist after his Atlanta exploits.
The Spanish star was unseeded but upset seventh seed Arnaud Boetsch, Greg Rusedski, and fourth seed MaliVai Washington to reach the last four.
Bruguera then interrupted the unexpected run of Brazil’s Fernando Meligini to go into the final, where he was beaten in straight sets by the famous Andre Agassi.
Rafael Nadal – Beijing 2008
Nadal won Spain’s first tennis gold medallist owing to his spectacular run at the Beijing Games 16 years ago.
Coming in as the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion, 22-year-old Nadal swept through the earlier stages of the event — dropping just one set on his way to the last four.
There, he came up against long-term adversary Novak Djokovic, yet clawed his way into the final after prevailing in three sets.
Against Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez in the final, the former world No 1 raced to gold with a straight-sets triumph.
Carlos Alcaraz – Paris 2024
Over a decade and a half on, Alcaraz now has the chance to imitate his idol – and the man he played doubles with in Paris this fortnight.
Alcaraz has mainly been in cruise control, rarely breaking a sweat on his trip to the final.
Opening wins against Hady Habib and Tallon Griekspoor got his campaign off to a great start, and he breezed over Roma Safiullin in round three to reach the last eight.
A quarter-final versus Tommy Paul has been his biggest challenge so far, albeit he dispatched the American in straight sets — surviving a set point in a second-set tiebreak.
He then delivered an impressive display against Auger-Aliassime in the final, and will try for gold on Sunday.
