We've been treated to many special moments thus far at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and things are about to get even better on Sunday as Novak Djokovic competes for the first gold medal of his career against Carlos Alcaraz.
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
The two just met in the final of Wimbledon a month ago, when Alcaraz lifted the trophy at the All England Club for the second time in his career. Now, the 21-year-old will aim to become the youngest gold medalist in Olympic history and the second man to claim titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and Olympics in the same season.
Will we see Alcaraz repeat last month's dominant performance, or will the emotional Djokovic add one more item to his long list of accomplishments?
Let's break down the best way to bet the 2024 Men's Tennis Final at the 2024 Olympics between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
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CARLOS ALCARAZ AT THE 2024 OLYMPICS
The Spaniard has been a runaway train at these Olympics, becoming the youngest man to ever appear in the gold medal match.
- He cruised past World No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime -- a man who'd been playing well and has a great deal of success in international competitions -- in just an hour and sixteen minutes.
- Prior to that, he took out 13th-ranked American Tommy Paul -- a player who'd beaten him twice in five meetings -- in straight sets.
Alcaraz dazzled with his serve against Paul, landing 75% in and winning 71% of points behind his first delivery. It was a continuation of what we've seen here at the Olympic Games, as it marked the fourth straight match that Alcaraz utilized his much-improved serve to make life a bit easier on himself by landing a plethora of them.
The most impressive thing we can say is that Alcaraz had his worst serving performance of the week against Auger-Aliassime and even then didn't face a break point and lost just two games over the course of the match.
He's used to winning this way, as his serve has often been a liability, but it just proves how talented the youngster really is. If he begins to find consistency on serve, he will be a Grand Slam champion many times over.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC AT THE 2024 OLYMPICS
The run here for Djokovic has been just as clean on paper, but it hasn't been quiet as dominant as what we've seen from Alcaraz.
First and foremost, the draw broke nicely for Djokovic here which is a familiar story in his career. Yes, he had to play Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, but Nadal was decidedly less than his best in that match.
- He would go on to face a far inferior opponent in Dominik Koepfer and two players who he's owned historically in the head-to-head in Stefanos Tsitsipas and Lorenzo Musetti.
Even those wins weren't without their moments. Djokovic fell behind two breaks to Tsitsipas in the second set of their quarterfinal match before Tsitsipas' demons came back to haunt him.
- It was on that very court that the Greek fumbled away a two sets-to-love lead in the final of the 2021 French Open, and history did well to repeat itself.
In that match we saw Djokovic appear to be experiencing some pain his his surgically-repaired knee, which was operated on just five or six week ago. It didn't appear he was in as much pain against Musetti, but he had to fight to hold serve early in the first set before sneaking a narrow break late to take control of the match.
Djokovic isn't bossing with his serve this week like he did on the quick courts of Wimbledon, and together with a slight liability health-wise, surely doesn't have edge over Alcaraz heading into this one.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC VS CARLOS ALCARAZ 2024 OLYMPICS FINAL PREDICTION
It seemed like Alcaraz wasn't playing his best tennis a month ago, and even in spite of that he managed to capture back-to-back Grand Slam titles. Now, he's in top form and flying in Paris.
Even without his A+ level prior to their encounter in the Wimbledon final, Alcaraz brought his best against arguably the greatest of all time in that one and put on a clinic in serving against the best return the game has ever seen in a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 win.
- Now, he's built up a head of steam and with the way he's continued to serve should be an extremely tough cookie for Djokovic to crack.
I continue to worry about Djokovic's knee here in Paris, considering clay is a much more physical surface than grass which will force him to drive off his legs and move around the court in more extended rallies.
- Alcaraz was able to use his drop shot to perfection at Wimbledon and should have it cooking once again on Sunday as he toys around with a man he's now beaten in three of their last five meetings on tour.
The two losses for Alcaraz came last year in Cincinnati, where Djokovic produced arguably the best level of his later years, and at the ATP Finals where the Spaniard was extremely fatigued from a long season and all out of sorts.
He won their first-ever meeting on clay before looking poised to take the only other one they've contested at the 2023 French Open before cramps brought the match to a quick and disappointing end.
On this surface, with this incredible level, Alcaraz should become the youngest man to ever claim gold in tennis at the Olympics and even if he doesn't do so in two sets should cover the games by running away against a weary Djokovic in the third.
Best Bet for Djokovic vs Alcaraz:
Alcaraz -3.5 Games (-115 at
Caesars)
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