Novak Djokovic has achieved one of the few remaining goals in his illustrious career.
The 37-year-old Serb defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in the breakthrough gold medal match at the French Open to become just the fifth player in history to win the Golden Slam and join Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams as the only players to win all four Grand Slam tournaments as well as an Olympic gold medal.
Djokovic’s torn meniscus prevented a French Open final between the world’s best players, and his straight-sets loss to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final seemed to prevent Djokovic from seriously competing, but this thrilling nearly three-hour final brought the sport’s greatest rivalry back to where it should be.
It was a match of the best from both players, with epic rallies, unexpected shot-making and neither player ever reaching the other’s serve until the very end.
The worst part was seeing Djokovic yelling at the box in Serbian and Alcaraz flashing frustrated looks after multiple mistakes.
In the end, Djokovic’s experience prevailed over the reckless Spaniard.
The same could be said for tennis, a sport that often plays a supporting role at the Olympics, but on Sunday a great gold medal rivalry unfolded, attracting worldwide attention.
2024 Paris Olympics
Djokovic never took his eye off the ball in a match that required near-perfect play. This was his first title of the year and one of the best of the three finals he has played so far.
From the start, neither player had anything left.
An epic first set saw neither player break and both teams landing shot after shot, an epic match that saw Djokovic shave off 18 points at 4-4, during which he saved four break points with expert precision in serving and volleying.
The next game saw Alcaraz fend off a set point.
Djokovic eventually took a decisive lead in the first set tiebreak after 95 minutes, winning four straight points that made Alcaraz regret the break points he had missed earlier, before sealing the set with a dashing forehand volley that only Djokovic can pull off, breaking for 7-3.
The second set played out much the same as the first, with both players serving and hitting shots from all over the court to send the match into a tiebreaker.
At 6-all, a forehand winner on the first point of the tiebreaker earned Djokovic a mini-break and he quickly took the lead.
Even when Alcaraz challenged him to hit a perfect winner, he never lost his momentum.
But on this Sunday afternoon in Paris, Djokovic was picture perfect.
