PARIS – For all his Grand Slam victories and other titles, throughout his time as the No. 1 player, Novak Djokovic was desperate to win an Olympic gold medal for Serbia, the last significant achievement missing from his glittering resume.
At the age of 37, he finally made it, and it doesn't matter at all how long it took.
Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in a thrilling and evenly matched men's singles tennis final at the 2024 Games on Sunday.
“I put my heart, my soul, my body, my family – my everything – on the line to win Olympic gold,” Djokovic said. “An incredible fight. An incredible fight.”
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His impressive career already included 24 Grand Slam titles, a men's record, and the most weeks spent at the top of the rankings by any man or woman. He had also already won a medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, albeit a bronze – and he made it clear that that just wasn't enough.
Until he defeated bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the semifinals on Friday, Djokovic had a 0-3 record in this round of matches, losing each time to the eventual gold winner: Rafael Nadal in 2008 in Beijing, Andy Murray in 2012 in London and Alexander Zverev three years ago in Tokyo.
Before the duel against Musetti, Djokovic said: “I thought to myself: 'Okay, let's get through this.' That's why I wasn't as nervous as usual before the match today because I had secured a medal.”
In Paris, Djokovic faced Nadal in the second round after suffering a torn meniscus two months ago, wearing grey tights over his right knee, which he had to undergo surgery, and eliminated his long-time rival in straight sets. Now Djokovic is the oldest man to win singles gold in his sport since 1908 – and he prevented 21-year-old Spaniard Alcaraz from becoming the youngest.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic falls to his knees after defeating Spain's Carlos Alcaraz to win his first gold medal. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
When a final forehand secured victory, Djokovic turned to his team in the stands – seated in front of his wife and their two children – dropped his racket and knelt on the sand. Agitated as ever, he cried and covered his face, then stood up and grabbed a red, white and blue Serbian flag.
After hugs in the stands, Djokovic waved the flag.
“In the difficult moments, he stepped on the gas again,” said Alcaraz through tears. “It hurts to lose like that.”
The final, which lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes despite being decided in just two sets, was a repeat of the Wimbledon title match from three weeks ago, which Alcaraz won after his victory at the French Open in June.
Alcaraz also defeated Djokovic in last year's final at the All England Club, but Djokovic won when the two met in the semifinals of the 2023 French Open, the annual clay-court tournament at Roland Garros, the venue for the tennis matches at these Olympics.
Sunday's match was a thrilling duel, featuring one of the best players of all time, Djokovic, and the best player of the moment, Alcaraz. Indeed, it could have been frustrating for Djokovic to once again find himself facing a younger, faster version of himself at the net. Perhaps that's why Djokovic frequently looked up, gesticulated and muttered towards his guest box.
Nevertheless, he prevailed.
“Honestly, when the last shot went through him and past him, that was the only moment I really thought I could win the match,” Djokovic said.
It required long exchanges of excellent ball striking, clever drop shots – Alcaraz's were usually more successful, sometimes so good that Djokovic didn't even give in – and incredible sprint, slide and stretch defense at both ends. They served so well that neither of them was broken even once: Djokovic fended off eight break points, Alcaraz six.
Perhaps most remarkable was how cleanly both men played, despite the talent of their opponents and the pressure of the situation.
Perhaps the only shame for the fans – and for Alcaraz, of course – was that the Olympics use a best-of-three format, rather than the best-of-five format used in Grand Slam tournaments. There is no question that this encounter between No. 1 seed Djokovic and No. 2 seed Alcaraz was worthy of a grand final.
Spectators in the stands became part of the show, breaking out into choruses of “No-le! No-le!” or “Car-los! Car-los!”, often overlapping and creating an operatic fugue. In the second set, as Alcaraz attempted to mount a comeback, his supporters began chanting “Si, se puede!” (essentially “Yes, you can!”) while waving their red and yellow flags. Referee Damien Dumusois occasionally warned people to be quiet during the action.
Between points, however, it became so quiet as in a theater that the game was briefly halted when the tense atmosphere was broken by the crying of a small child.
Both men played for the crowd. When Alcaraz ran to reach a drop shot and sink it over the net for the win, he basked in the loud reaction by pointing to his ear with his right index finger. When Djokovic hit a cross-court forehand winner on the run to cap a 10-stroke point and take a 3-2 lead in the second tiebreak, he waved both arms above his head to cheer on the people who were already standing and screaming.
The first set alone lasted more than 1.5 hours and was full of epic shots and epic games. One game lasted 18 points, spread over more than a dozen fascinating minutes, including five break chances for Alcaraz before Djokovic was able to maintain his lead at 5-4. In the tiebreak, Djokovic, as so often, was superior in crunch time and took the last four points.
At 3-3, Alcaraz landed a body serve, but Djokovic slipped just far enough to his left to hit a cross-court forehand return winner. After two errors from Alcaraz, Djokovic hit a volley winner and turned to his family with his fist raised.
Another set and another tiebreaker later, Djokovic finally had the medal he wanted.
When the Serbian national anthem ended on Court Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic reached for the gold and brought it to his lips for a kiss.
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