Novak Djokovic won the gold medal in tennismen’s singles, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Serbian champion, number 1 in the draw and 2 in the world ranking, defeated the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, second force in the tournament and third in the world, in the final with a score of 7-6(3) 7-6(2). “Nole”, already bronze in Beijing 2008, takes over the roll of honour of the five-ringed German Alexander Zverev, winner of the Olympic title in Tokyo.
A gold that he wanted, that he had been chasing all his life. And in the end he took it in the most spectacular way possible, in a match against the new phenomenon who is 15 years younger than him, Carlos Alcaraz beaten with a double tie break. Three weeks ago the Spaniard had punished him in the Wimbledon final, but this time it is the 21-year-old champion of Roland Garros and Championships consecutively who has to surrender to the cannibal. Nole therefore becomes the fifth player to complete the Golden Slam or to succeed, in the course of her career, in winning all the Slams and the Olympic gold. And she does it in front of one of the four to have accomplished the feat, Serena Williams, in the front row enjoying an incredible show, the highest possible level, worthy of a show that takes place every four years. NOle joins Williams, Graf, Agassi and Nadal in the elite of history. There is the regret of not having seen Jannik Sinner, already ready to return to the court at the Masters 1000 in Montreal, but there is the joy of seeing Lorenzo Musetti on the lowest step of the podium, with a bronze medal around his neck.
“We played for almost three hours, two sets, it was an incredible battle. When the last ball passed behind him, that was honestly the only moment I thought I could win the match. I thought I could do it, really win it.” Djokovic said at the end of the match to the microphones of discovery+. “He kept coming back, asking me to play my best tennis. It was a very balanced match, it was probably right that both sets ended in a tie break. I don’t know what to say, I’m still in shock, I put my heart, my soul, my body, everything I had to win the Olympic gold at 37 years old, and finally I did it.” The Serbian tennis player continued: “Winning this gold was important above all for my nation, it’s something special. It’s my fifth Olympics, in three of the previous ones I played the semifinals, without ever reaching the final. When I entered the court for the semifinal against Musetti I said to myself “we’re going through this round”. Maybe that’s also why today, before the match, I didn’t feel as tense as I usually do, because I had secured a medal. But obviously I wanted the gold and to do my best.”