The Serbian, world number 2, won his first Olympic title in Paris on Sunday after a breathless match against the Spaniard.
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There was no better poster for an Olympic Games final in Paris. And she kept all his promises. Novak Djokovic won against Carlos Alcaraz with a score of 7-6 [3]7-6 [2] and 2h50 of play, Sunday August 4, on the Philippe-Chatrier court at Roland-Garros. This final, pitting the Serb, winner of 24 Grand Slam titles, against the Spaniard, new king of Paris, will remain in the annals for the quality of play and the intensity put in by the two players to win Olympic gold.
“This year has been a bit strange for me because I didn’t win a title. But I always said that the Roland-Garros – Wimbledon block and the Olympic Games were the biggest goals of this season, especially the Olympics, knowing that it was maybe my last chance to win the gold medal. So I did everything to live up to it,” Novak Djokovic reacted in a press conference.
Paris 2024 – Tennis: Novak Djokovic wins first set in tie-break
For his fifth participation, Novak Djokovic thus wins the Olympic title for the first time, sixteen years after winning bronze in Beijing. He also became, at 37 years old, the oldest player to play in an Olympic final and win it.” We witnessed an exceptional final in many ways, where Novak Djokovic went for Olympic gold at 37 years old, the only major title he was missing, it was exceptional,” underlines Justine Hénin, seven-time Grand Slam champion, including four times at Roland-Garros, and consultant for France Télévisions. “If we go further, it is also the way in which he gave himself the means to get there, after these last months of doubts on the physical and mental level. We wondered if after his knee operation he would find the resources to do it and I am amazed by the means he found to achieve it,” she still analyzes.
“Given my background, I think the Olympics were the most difficult obstacle to overcome and win.”
Novak Djokovic, Olympic championat a press conference
“It’s hard to say whether an Olympic tournament is harder to win than a Grand Slam. But the fact that they take place every four years means that the pressure you feel when representing your country is high, as are the expectations that everyone has of you, regardless of what you’ve achieved in your individual career,” said the Serbian again after his match, which does not close the door to Los Angeles 2028.
On a boiling central court, the crowd went through all the emotions. And those who claimed to know the winner before the final tie-break were very foolhardy. Because the suspense lasted the entire match, or almost. First in the first set, where neither Novak Djokovic nor Carlos Alcaraz managed to convert a single break point (six missed for Djokovic, eight for Alcaraz).
It took Novak Djokovic 1h30 to achieve the mini-break in the tie-break and thus pocket the first set. A scenario almost similar in the second set where, once again, “Nole” managed to pull off a masterstroke in a final tie-break. Against him, his opponent lost tenacity, while he seemed indestructible as the set, then the set, concluded. “From the moment his physique was there, in the second set, we felt that it was not going to escape him. He had made a date with this final and this title,” notes Justine Hénin.
The only hole in his record has now been filled. “Something has been proven again today, says Justine Hénin. Olympic gold had resisted him until now, while few things had resisted him. This inevitably brings more doubts. But it makes things even more beautiful.” Today, there is no doubt. He is indeed the greatest.