Novak Djokovic completed his career ‘Golden Slam’ by winning the long-awaited Olympic title with a thrilling win over Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic, who has won 24 men’s major tournaments and swept every title in tennis, finally won Olympic gold in his fifth competition.
The Serbian had his best result of the year, beating French Open and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) in front of a packed Parisian crowd.
He is the fifth player to achieve the ‘Golden Slam’ in singles, following Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf – winning all four majors and the Olympic title.
The 37-year-old Djokovic left the court two months ago at Roland Garros after undergoing knee surgery that left his Olympic dreams in jeopardy, and his reaction after Sunday’s victory showed what that meant.
He turned to the box with his arms outstretched in disbelief and threw his racket on the floor after a long 2 hours and 52 minutes.
After embracing Spain’s Alcaraz, Djokovic immediately broke down in tears and knelt at the centre of the court.
He then unfurled the Serbian flag and climbed into the stands to celebrate with his family and supporters.
“It was an unbelievable fight and I had to play my best tennis,” an emotional Djokovic told Eurosport.
“I gave my heart, soul, everything to win the gold medal. I did it for my country first – for Serbia.”
Alcaraz, 21, also shed tears after the game, but will walk out of the stadium with a silver medal in his Olympic debut.
Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti won the singles bronze medal over Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday.
