Carlos Alcaraz becomes youngest Olympics semifinalist since Novak Djokovic, defeats Tommy Paul to continue scintillating run at Paris 2024

Carlos Alcaraz recently became the youngest semifinalist at the Olympics since Novak Djokovic after defeating Tommy Paul. The Spaniard, who is participating in his debut Olympics, ousted the American in a hard-fought straight-set battle.

Alcaraz, who had a slow start to the year, bounced back incredibly as the season progressed. He has won the Indian Wells Masters, and the French Open, and defended his Wimbledon title. He also became the youngest man in the Open Era to conquer the Channel Slam.

The 21-year-old, riding high on confidence, has taken this form with him at the 2024 Paris Olympics as he kicked off his campaign with a statement straight-set win against Lebanon's Hady Habib. He followed it up with a win against Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor in the second round and then took out Roman Safiullin in the next. It is worth noting that Alcaraz won all these matches without dropping a set.

The Spaniard played ninth seed Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals. The two men produced a high-quality one-hour and 59-minute thriller which went the World No. 3's way 6-4, 7-6(7).

With this win, Carlos Alcaraz has become the youngest player at 21 years and 91 days old since Novak Djokovic reached the final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at 21 years old and 87 days.

The Serb lost to rival Rafael Nadal in the semifinals but managed to win the bronze medal by defeating USA's James Blake 6-3, 7-6(4). He is also competing at the Olympics this year for the elusive gold and is set to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.

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Carlos Alcaraz will play the winner of the match between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics

Carlos Alcaraz (Image source: GETTY)

Carlos Alcaraz, second seed, will play the winner of the quarterfinal match between Felix-Auger Aliassime and Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Both men are having great runs in Paris so far. While the Norwegian has defeated Taro Daniel, Andrea Vavassori, and Francisco Cerundolo, the Candian ousted Marcos Giron, Maximilian Marterer, and Daniil Medvedev to reach the final 8.

Carlos Alcaraz boasts a 4-0 head-to-head record against Casper Ruud, while his record against Aliassime is tied at 3-3, with the Spaniard winning the three most recent meetings.

Alcaraz also took part in doubles alongside his idol Rafael Nadal but their dream run came to an end in the quarterfinals against fourth seeds Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek from Team USA in straight sets.