PARIS – Novak Djokovic has done it. He has nothing left to win. In his fifth Olympic Games, he finally owns the medal.
“I’m in shock. I put my heart, my soul, my body, my family… I put everything on the line to win Olympic gold. At 37 years old I finally did it,” Djokovic told Eurosport.
He put his heart and soul into it.
In almost three hours of play spread over two sets, the Serb opted for an aggressive tennis with powerful shots that paid off. With a very high level, Carlos Alcaraz forced Djokovic to show his best version to win one of the most significant matches of his career by 7-6(3) and 7-6(2).
When he won he screamed loudly and cried like a child. He crouched down on the court, he made the sign of the cross. He cried and cried more. Then he climbed through the crowd to find his family and team, who were all wearing fake gold medals.
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There is something special between Djokovic and the Philippe Chatrier. That’s his arch-rival’s favourite venue. Rafael Nadal “owns” that clay, and Djokovic has had more bitter moments than sweet ones over it. But those happy moments have been especially tasteful. When he won his first Roland Garros, he completed the Grand Slam there; when he triumphed in 2023, he reached the impressive mark of 23 major titles and broke away from Nadal; in 2024 he sate his Olympic hunger.
He put his body on the line.
In May he tore his meniscus and missed the Roland Garros quarter-finals. He underwent surgery in Paris, posed on crutches with the Eiffel Tower in the background and did the impossible to recover in time for Wimbledon and return in good conditions to Paris. His bionic knee worked in an amazing way that even Alcaraz called a “super human” thing.
He put his family on the line.
“Dad is the best,” seven-year-old Tara Djokovic wrote on a sign, sitting in the stands with her brother Stefan and mother Jelena. Djokovic’s daughter tenderly and innocently refers to Djokovic as the best father. Are there other interpretations? That Djokovic is the best male tennis player of all time. Now, having paid his only outstanding debt, is there anyone who can question it?
The announcer shouted over the loudspeakers before Djokovic took to the court: “He’s looking to become the fifth person to win the Golden Slam”. Actually, that was only done by Steffi Graf in 1988, when she won gold in Seoul and the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same year. Djokovic today can boast a career Grand Slam. He matched Nadal, Andre Agassi and Serena Williams, who watched his feat in the front row.
“On Friday I took the edge off my nerves because I secured a medal. I had lost three semi-finals at the Olympics and when I played Musetti in the semis, I told myself I had to end that streak,” Djokovic told Eurosport.
If anyone wants to reproach Novak Djokovic, they have to look for things that are extra-tennis or beyond the realm of competition. The legend has already stamped his name in the one place where it was not read: at the top of Olympus.
