Serbia's Novak Djokovic (37) beat Italy's Lorenzo Musetti (22) 6-4, 6-2 to reach his first Olympic final on Friday and will bid for gold in a blockbuster clash with Carlos Alcaraz (21).
He was pushed hard in a high-quality match and was tetchy at times on Court Philippe Chatrier but hung tough in the crucial moments to move through.
Top seed Djokovic had lost his three previous Olympic singles semi-finals and a gold medal is the only major prize missing from a career which has brought him 24 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic will face Spain's Alcaraz for gold on Sunday while 11th seed Musetti will play Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime for the bronze medal.
