The match between the big names lived up to expectations on Sunday, August 4, on the clay courts of Roland-Garros. Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz delivered a huge showdown in the final of the 2024 Olympic tennis tournament. And it was the Serb who won (7-6) [3]7-6 [2]), thus winning the major trophy he had been chasing for so many years.
4 mins
From our special correspondent at the Roland-Garros stadium,
It is the end of a long quest. A fight that began 16 years ago, and has finally been won. That’s it, Novak Djokovic is an Olympic champion. His fifth attempt was the right one. Three years after collapsing in Tokyo in the semi-finals, the Serb climbed the last Everest that still resisted him in Paris in these JO 2024.
And to invite himself among the giants of Olympus, he needed a valiant opponent on his way to the final. A player capable of making the “Joker” waver and pushing him to bring out his best tennis. That’s what Carlos Alcaraz was on August 4 on the Philippe-Chatrier court at the Roland-Garros stadium. A little less than two months ago, he triumphed here over Alexander Zverev in the final of the Paris Grand Slam. This time the coin fell on the wrong side for him.
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A superb first set
Before the start of hostilities, the momentum was in favour of the Spaniard, who has been in dazzling form over the last two months. On the grass at Wimbledon, three weeks ago, he crushed a Novak Djokovic who had barely recovered from an operation on his right knee. On Saturday, on the eve of this Olympic final, the Serb was full of praise for his opponent: ” Alcaraz has proven that he is the best in the world right now. He won Roland-Garros, Wimbledon by beating me in the finalthe way he plays… All this makes him a favorite “.
But in these Games, “Nole” is on a mission. And between the 37-year-old veteran hungry for Olympic gold and the 21-year-old Spaniard with the ogre’s appetite, there was no observation round. From the first points, both brought out the big guns, in front of packed stands that resembled a football stadium, so vocal were the supporters of each player.
Djokovic, world number 2 in the ATP rankings, and Alcaraz, who occupies the 3rd place, crossed swords and neither wanted to back down. No break point was converted, and the inevitable tie break loomed. A decisive game where the Serb made fewer errors to pocket the first set in 1h33. In this Olympic tournament where matches are played in the best of three sets, this was then an important first step.
Djokovic among the greatest tennis legends
The second set started on the same basis as the first: each player brought out their best shots, fiercely defending their serve. Novak Djokovic never seemed able to crack Carlos Alcaraz, and vice versa. A real final between titans in short, to the great delight of a crowd delighted by the spectacle offered. Exhausting rallies, forehands along the line, drop shots… The whole classic manual was there.
It was therefore necessary to go through a new tie break to separate the two players who were unable to break each other. And as in the first set, Djokovic was the strongest in this little game. After so much frustration in Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021, the Serb could no longer afford to tremble. Stronger once again in the tie break, he flew towards a victory that could no longer escape him.
The circle is now complete for Novak Djokovic. And the debate about the identity of the best tennis player in history is perhaps settled. Now, the Serbian has truly won all the biggest titles possible: the four Grand Slams, the Masters, the Davis Cup… and now the Olympic gold medal, like the Americans Andre Agassi and Serena Williams and the German Steffi Graf before. Prestigious names that allow us to evaluate the immensity of the player that is Novak Djokovic.