Photo: ITF/Daniel Kopatsch
Félix Auger-Aliassime still has a chance to bring home Canada’s first Olympic medal in singles, but it will have to be bronze after he was overwhelmed by Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals on Friday morning at the Paris Olympics.
The reigning Roland-Garros champion was in top form on that same court and showed Auger-Aliassime no mercy, outhitting the Canadian in every phase of the game on his way to a 6-1, 6-1 win.
Standing between Auger-Aliassime and the bronze medal on Saturday will be either Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti.
It was all Alcaraz from start to finish. His combination of speed and power frustrated the big-hitting Canadian, who only managed five winners but committed 23 unforced errors. He also saw his mighty serve broken five times while never creating a break point on return.
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Right from the start, Auger-Aliassime was under pressure from the Spaniard, getting pushed to deuce in his opening service game. On that occasion, he was able to hold, but the next time up, he missed a backhand wide and then double faulted to throw away the early break.
Alcaraz was in peak form very early in the match, getting every ball, including some big serves and well-placed drives from Auger-Aliassime, back with interest. The Canadian could not find a way to end points and everything went the Spaniard’s way.
Auger-Aliassime had only faced break points in one service game through his first five matches, but he was broken three times in a row in the first set by Alcaraz, who won six straight games to take the opening set.
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The second set followed a similar script. Facing the human backboard that was Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime cracked in his second service game, missing a forehand to set up a break point and then double-faulting.
There was to be no letting up from the Spaniard, who seemed to have the ball on a string as he followed up a near-perfect drop shot with a forehand winner down the line to score a second break before serving out the match.
Auger-Aliassime could still bring home two medals from the Paris Olympics. He is also playing in the mixed doubles bronze medal match later on Friday with Gabriela Dabrowski.
