Lorenzo Musetti and Felix Auger-Aliassime seek to overcome the disappointment of their semi-final losses at the Paris 2024 Olympics when they meet in Saturday's bronze medal match.
Novak Djokovic defeated the Italian in straight sets, while Auger-Aliassime was dispatched by No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the earlier match.
Match preview
Musetti went into Friday's semi-final against Djokovic with a 6-1 losing record against the No. 1 seed, which became 7-1 after a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to the Serbian star.
The 22-year-old battled impressively in the opening set and seemed set to force an 11th game only to be broken by the top seed in the 10th, losing a sixth straight set against the Serb.
That became seven in the match's second set, where Musetti's shot execution let him down as his level dropped significantly, ultimately losing for the fourth straight match against Djokovic and a third consecutive time on clay.
Despite the disappointment of losing to the 24-time Slam champion, the Italian could still notch a bronze medal in the men's singles event on Saturday, and he aims to bounce back against his Canadian opponent.
While Musetti pushed Djokovic to his limits in the opening set, Auger-Aliassime barely laid a finger on Alcaraz in Friday's earlier semi-final, with the Spaniard notching a 6-1, 6-1 win.
The Canadian could not resist the French Open and Wimbledon champion's heavy-hitting and admirable returns, often forcing the 23-year-old to play an extra shot, thus forcing errors from the five-time Tour-level champion.
Perhaps hindered by an extended quarter-final win over Casper Ruud and his mixed doubles semi-final on August 1, the No. 13 seed was far from his physical best against Alcaraz in the meek semi-final surrender.
Auger-Aliassime did bounce back from his loss to the Spanish top player in his mixed doubles bronze medal match, securing third place with Gabriela Dabrowski later on Friday at the expense of Wesley Koolhof and Demi Schuurs.
Having notched bronze in the mixed doubles, Auger-Aliassime aims to do likewise in the singles event to end a commendable Olympics on a positive note.
Tournament so far
Lorenzo Musetti:
First round: vs. Gael Monfils 6-1 6-4
Second round: vs. Mariano Navone 7-6[2] 6-3
Third round: vs. Taylor Fritz 6-4 7-5
Quarter-final: vs. Alexander Zverev 7-5 7-5
Semi-final: vs. Novak Djokovic 4-6 2-6
Felix Auger-Aliassime:
First round: vs. Marcos Giron 6-1 6-4
Second round: vs. Maximilian Marterer 6-0 6-1
Third round: vs. Daniil Medvedev 6-3 7-6[5]
Quarter-final: vs. Casper Ruud 6-4 6-7[8] 6-3
Semi-final: vs. Carlos Alcaraz 1-6 1-6
Head To Head
Barcelona (2021) - Round of 32: Auger-Aliassime 2-6 6-3 6-0
Lyon (2021) - Round of 32: Musetti 7-6(3) 3-6 7-5
Monte-Carlo Masters (2022) - Round of 32: Musetti 6-2 7-6(2)
Florence (2022) - Semi-final: Auger-Aliassime 6-2 6-3
Davis Cup Finals (2022) - Semi-final:Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-4
Both players have played five times on Tour, with Auger-Aliassime ahead 3-2.
While they have never played on grass, all five matches have been on hard courts or clay, with three match-ups on the latter.
The Canadian has won both matches on hard courts, but Musetti leading 2-1 on clay courts is probably instructive heading into Saturday's bronze medal match.
We say: Musetti to win in two sets
Barring the defeat to Djokovic, Musetti was in admirable form at the Games, underscored by straight-set wins in the previous rounds, including his victory over defending champion Zverev in the quarter-finals.
We are backing the Italian to get the better of Auger-Aliassime, who may not have enough left in the tank to go again after exertions in singles and mixed doubles over recent days.
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