PARIS — Despite his numerous Grand Slam titles and periods as world No. 1, Novak Djokovic had always yearned for an Olympic gold medal for Serbia, the one major achievement absents from his illustrious career.
At the age of 37, he finally claimed the coveted prize on Sunday, triumphing over Carlos Alcaraz with scores of 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in a captivating and closely contested men’s singles tennis final at the 2024 Olympics.
When I take everything into consideration, this probably is the biggest sporting success I ever had in my career,” said Djokovic. “This kind of supersedes everything that I imagined that I hoped that I could experience, that I could feel.”
With the slimmest of margins where any error could have shifted the balance, Djokovic showcased his peak performance when it mattered most, commanding both tiebreakers against Alcaraz, who had defeated him in the Wimbledon final just three weeks prior. “In those critical moments, during the challenging situations and the tiebreaks, he played an extraordinary game,” acknowledged Alcaraz, the 21-year-old Spaniard who also shed tears after narrowly missing out on becoming the youngest male singles gold medalist. “It was evident that he was determined to win the gold medal. He was fully committed to it.”
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Djokovic already owns a men’s-record 24 Grand Slam trophies, and the most weeks spent atop the rankings by any man or woman. He also already owned an Olympics medal, from 2008, but it was a bronze — and he made it clear that simply wasn’t sufficient.
The final, lasting 2 hours and 50 minutes, showcased one of the greatest, Djokovic, and the “highest mountain to climb at the moment,” Alcaraz, in Djokovic’s words.
“We both played at a very high level,” said Djokovic. “It was truly a match of toe-to-toe combat.”
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