Novak Djokovic defeated Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in the Olympic men’s singles final at Roland Garros on Sunday to win the gold medal, becoming the oldest man to win a tennis singles gold medal since 1908.
The 37-year-old won a hard-fought battle on Court Philippe Chatrier to claim his first Olympic title.
Djokovic’s career already includes a men’s record 24 Grand Slam titles and the most weeks spent ranked number one in the world by either man or woman.
That list already included a medal from the 2008 Summer Olympics, but it was a bronze medal, and he made it clear that it wasn’t enough.
Before beating bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the semifinals on Friday, Djokovic was 0-3 in that round of the Olympics. He had lost to eventual gold medalists Rafael Nadal in Beijing in 2008, Andy Murray in London in 2012 and Alexander Zverev in Tokyo three years ago.
Djokovic now becomes the oldest player to win a singles gold medal in the sport since 1908, thwarting 21-year-old Alcaraz of Spain from becoming the youngest player to do so.
Steffi Graf became the first player to win all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal in 1988.
Andre Agassi won his first and final French Open title in 1999, becoming the first man to complete the career Golden Slam.
Rafael Nadal became the youngest player ever to achieve the Career Golden Slam at age 24 in 2010. Serena Williams won four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
Novak Djokovic added an Olympic gold medal to his 24 Grand Slam titles, adding his name to an illustrious list of Golden Slam winners.
“The match lasted almost three hours and the last shot was the only moment I knew I could win the match,” the APF quoted Djokovic as saying. “I sacrificed my body and my family to get the gold medal and finally I did it,” he added.
“It was three hours of hard fighting with some tough moments,” said Alcaraz, 21. The loss was tough.
When Alcaraz collapsed first in the tiebreaker and another one was needed to decide the second set, Djokovic stepped up his game again and sealed the victory with a stunning forehand winner down the line.
Djokovic roared to the sky, shook hands with Alcaraz, then knelt in the middle of the court and jumped into the crowd surrounded by his family and team members. He celebrated his victory by waving aloft the Serbian flag on the court.
The 21-year-old Alcaraz, who missed out on the Olympic title in addition to the French Open and Wimbledon titles this year, was left in tears at the end.
Djokovic has won three of his six matches against Alcaraz, including a semi-final at Roland Garros last year, but the Spaniard has become a force to be reckoned with in men’s tennis this year, winning back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles.
Djokovic produced the best performance of his career to deny Alcaraz the title and become just the fifth player to complete the Career Golden Slam by winning all four singles tournaments and an Olympic title.
The opening set alone took an hour and 33 minutes, with neither player giving an inch in a hard-fought battle. There were numerous break points, but when the set went to a tiebreak, neither player was able to break serve, with Alcaraz conceding a break. When another tiebreak was needed to decide the second set, Djokovic stepped up a gear again, sealing the victory with a stunning forehand winner down the line.
