Alcaraz beats Paul at Olympic tennis, and Tokyo gold medalist Zverev loses to Musetti

PARIS -- Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach the singles semifinals at a Summer Games since Novak Djokovic in 2008 by getting past Tommy Paul of the U.S. 6-3, 7-6 (7) at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.

In another quarterfinal, Tokyo Games gold medalist Alexander Zverev of Germany lost to Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 7-5, 7-5.

Alcaraz is a 21-year-old Spaniard who is just a few days older than Djokovic was when he took home a bronze for Serbia 16 years ago in Beijing.

This is only the latest in a series of “youngest since” or “youngest ever” achievements for Alcaraz, who is coming off titles at the French Open — which is held at Roland Garros, the same facility being used for the 2024 Paris Games — in June and at Wimbledon in July.

Those trophies raised his Grand Slam trophy count to four. As it is, he was the youngest man with a major championship on hard, grass and clay courts. In 2022, he became the first teenager to reach No. 1 in the ATP rankings, getting there after winning the U.S. Open.

And so on.

In the semifinals Friday, Alcaraz will take on three-time major runner-up Casper Ruud of Norway or Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada. Their quarterfinal was later Thursday, as was the one between the 37-year-old Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. Djokovic vs. Tsitsipas is a rematch of the 2021 French Open final that Djokovic won in five sets after dropping the first two, and whoever comes out on top this time will take on Musetti.

Alcaraz and Paul, whose best showing at a major was a semifinal run at the 2023 Australian Open, are developing a bit of a rivalry. Alcaraz is now 5-2 head-to-head, which includes defeating Paul a few weeks ago in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

This one could have become a lot more complicated.

Paul nearly pushed the match to a third set.

He served for the second at 5-3 and got within two points of taking it a couple of times there, but couldn't get closer, including missing a volley off a dipping cross-court passing shot by Alcaraz, then pushing a backhand long. Alcaraz eventually broke with an on-the-run forehand passing winner after Paul smacked a terrific forehand approach shot to a corner.

The crowd went wild. Alcaraz pointed his right index finger to his ear, then raised that fist.

In the tiebreaker, Paul earned a set point at 7-6, and he conjured up a drop half-volley that Alcaraz sprinted to, then slid, and guided a down-the-line backhand that went off the edge of Paul's racket frame and toward the stands. Again, Alcaraz gestured as the spectators roared.

On Alcaraz's second match point, Paul yanked a forehand wide, and that was that.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games