When the men’s singles final came to a close, even the usually steely Novak Djokovic broke down in tears.
The four Grand Slam titles and almost every other accolade in the sport belonged to the legendary Serbian tennis player, but the Olympic gold medal was eluding him. He had made five unsuccessful attempts to take home the gold.
On Sunday, that finally changed.
The 37-year-old veteran finally found success at the Roland-Garros stadium, where he had suffered a knee injury only months before, and across the net from the face of Carlos Alcaraz, 21, tennis’s new guard, who had defeated him at Wimbledon this summer.
But Alcaraz did not make it simple for Djokovic. There had to be a tiebreaker because the two sets that were played were tied the entire time. Thirteen break points were missed in the first set. The match went on for about three hours, which seemed like an eternity to win the best two sets out of three.
Both players were clearly irritated by the yells and cries from the boisterous audience, and referees had to keep asking fans to keep quiet.
However, Djokovic triumphed, beating Alcaraz 7(7)-6(3), 7(7)-6(2).
Following the game, Djokovic fell on the ground. He had a towel covering his head and was sobbing and trembling. Leaping into the throng, he gave his family a hug. At last, he was radiant.
“I’m overwhelmed with everything I’m feeling right now,” Djokovic stated. “Millions of different emotions, of course.”
Since Josiah Ritchie of Great Britain won the Olympic singles competition in 1908, Djokovic is the oldest player to have achieved this feat.
“Of course I’ve won everything there is to win probably in my individual career, but winning the Davis Cup, and particularly a golden medal for an Olympic Games for Serbia at the age of 37, is unprecedented,” he stated.
Djokovic joins Steffi Graf, Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, and Serena Williams as the only players in history to complete the “Golden Slam” with the medal and his four major Grand Slam victories.
When Agassi achieved the feat of completing the Golden Slam, Djokovic was just nine years old. Since then, Djokovic has been the most successful man in history with 24 Grand Slam victories.
Although it’s unclear if Djokovic will hand the reins to Alcaraz and other new guards, this victory cements his place among tennis history.
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Although Djokovic’s pursuit of gold is now accomplished, Alcaraz’s silver signifies what lies ahead for the next big thing in tennis. Since Djokovic took home a bronze in the 2008 Olympic singles competition, the 21-year-old is the youngest man to earn a medal in the sport.
“I am a little bit disappointed but I’m going to leave the court with my head high,” Alcaraz stated. “I gave everything that I had. Fighting for Spain was everything for me. I’m proud of the way I played today.”
Losing the way he did, said to Alcaraz, was “painful,” but Djokovic performed “great” and “deserved this.” Italian Lorenzo Musetti won bronze on the right side of the podium, marking the nation’s second-ever tennis medal and its first since the 1924 Olympics in Paris.
This is Djokovic’s first victory of 2024; it’s a rematch of Wimbledon, where he was defeated by Alcaraz in the final.
