Carlos Alcaraz headed into the men’s singles gold medal match full of confidence and was prepared to end his summer on the perfect note, only to be denied and left red-faced by Novak Djokovic in Paris.
The reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion had been on a high over the past few months and perhaps got too carried away after reaching the Olympics final with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 21-year-old had guaranteed himself and Spain a medal, but was expecting to walk away with gold on Sunday. Having beaten Djokovic comfortably in the SW19 final three weeks ago to the day, Alcaraz was more than happy to talk up his chances in the French capital.
“I thank the people at home, who are very many Spanish people, for their support,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview after defeating Auger-Aliassime. “Cheering me on at every point, with me. I’m going to give them what they want, which is gold.”
Alcaraz also claimed that he was going to put on a “show” against Djokovic, before being beaten in both tiebreaks to lose 7-6(3), 7-6(2). The Spaniard won’t look back on his pre-match comments too fondly, as his opponent celebrated a first gold medal at the age of 37.
“I’m going to try to do the things I’ve been doing, nothing more, nothing less,” Alcaraz previewed. “In the end, it’s a final, it’s a very important moment in my life and my career, and for all Spaniards as well. We’re going to try not to think about how important it is, but to think that it’s just another match.
“Obviously, our goal at the beginning of the week and our goal at the beginning of the year was to get gold, not just a medal, but gold. We’ve got the medal guaranteed, so we’re going to try to enjoy this final, because it’s going to be a very nice moment for many people, for my team, for my family, for me in my life, so we’re going to try to go for it.
“They should prepare themselves for the show I’m going to give them. I don’t know, I just hope they’re cheering me on. I’m very grateful to the people in the stadium who have come here to Paris to cheer me on, they are a very important support for me in this tournament.”
After defeat, Alcaraz will be consoled and celebrated by those loyal Spanish supporters and has already been messaged by Rafael Nadal after an incredible year – insisting that the young star should be proud of his gold medal rather than despondent at not winning gold.
