The 37-year-old Serb defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in a high-class final on Court Philippe-Chatrier with 7:6(3),7:6(2). The most successful tennis player of all time won the gold medal, the last missing piece of the puzzle of his unique career.
The “Djoker” has now won everything there is to win in tennis. 24 Grand Slam victories, 40 Masters titles, seven triumphs at the ATP finals and winning the Davis Cup were on the Serbian’s calling card before the games in Paris. The 21-year-old Alcaraz, the youngest player to date in an Olympic final, missed out on the second singles gold for Spain after Rafael Nadal in 2008. The Italian Lorenzo Musetti secured bronze on Saturday.
Tactically perfectly positioned
Djokovic caused Alcaraz significantly more problems from the start than in the long, one-sided Wimbledon final three weeks ago. Both sides played tennis at the highest level in front of Serena Williams. Because both Djokovic and Alcaraz were unable to capitalize on small weaknesses in the server and numerous break points, the tiebreak was the logical consequence. In this tiebreak, the Serb retained the upper hand with 7:3 and converted the first set point after more than an hour and a half of play.
Afterwards, both players conceded little to nothing on their own serve. Djokovic continued to be perfectly prepared for Alcaraz tactically. The Spaniard did not let up and seemed fresher than his opponent as the second set went on. Nevertheless, the second set was also decided in a tiebreak. Alcaraz now made unusual mistakes. After almost three hours of play, the “Djoker” converted the first match point and was subsequently moved to tears.
After Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, Djokovic is the fifth player in the history of tennis to win all four Grand Slam tournaments as well as Olympic gold.