Novak Djokovic is perhaps the greatest tennis player of all time. The 37-year-old Serbian has won the most Grand Slam titles of any player (24), and has also been world number one for the longest time (428 weeks).
But one title was missing from his track record: the Olympic gold.
Olympics in Paris 2024
Triathlete hospitalized with E.coli – Belgium pulls out of team competition
Expert Lars Frölander’s tribute to Sjöström after the new Olympic gold
Won two tiebreaks
But now he has that too. He won today the final at Roland Garros, against the Spanish world number two Carlos Alcaraz, in two straight sets: 7–6 (7–3), 7–6 (7–2)
As the numbers suggest, the match was very close. But when it mattered most, it was Djokovic who brought out the sharpest game.
Fell in tears of joy
The Serb showed no nerves to speak of, while the Spaniard, 16 years his junior, made a simple mistake in the tiebreak that proved costly.
When the gold was ready, Djokovic showed scenes of joy that you rarely see with him nowadays. He dropped the racket and fell to his knees, crying tears of joy.
– I’m still in shock and don’t know what to say. Finally I’ve done it (to win Olympic gold), Djokovic said in a TV interview shortly afterwards.
The Paris Olympics was Djokovic’s fifth Olympic appearance. At these Olympics, he had only received one medal: A bronze in Beijing 2008.