When Novak Djokovic reflects one day on one of the most prodigious careers of any athlete in the world of sports, he will surely single out for many reasons his triumph at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Djokovic refused to concede a set in six matches. His fifth appearance at the Olympics was memorable on many levels, including a second round victory over 2008 gold medalist Rafael Nadal and a legitimate scare in the quarterfinals when he aggravated his knee against Stefanos Tsitsipas. He then played a pulsating semifinal against Lorenzo Musetti which toughened him up considerably.
But it was in the final against the majestic Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz that Djokovic underlined once more his supremacy as a competitor of singular ferocity and unwavering spirit. He reminded both himself and us that when he has his heart set on realizing a goal and his mindset is where it needs to be, he is a man who is nearly impossible to beat. Djokovic wanted the gold medal as much as he has ever desired anything in his career. That was apparent from the moment he stepped on court to face an Alcaraz who was every bit as determined as the Serbian to secure the singles title for not only himself but on behalf of his country.
The pride and professionalism of both players was extraordinary to behold. These were two gladiators competing as if their lives depended on prevailing as they battled unrelentingly for that gold. This was the seventh appointment between Djokovic and Alcaraz in a riveting rivalry which only started in the springtime of 2022, and the Serbian leads now by 4-3 in their stirring series after toppling Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on the Parisian clay. It was the best two set match I have ever seen because the standard was so high on both sides of the net and the stakes were so significant.
Neither player was able to fashion a service break over the course of two tremendous sets. Both men used every inch of the court, explored the boundaries of their talent and imaginations, and refused to back down in one dazzling backcourt exchange after another. It was a case of two estimable champions in sparkling form ceding no ground. They often peaked simultaneously in the most breathtaking of rallies. Meanwhile, the serving quality from both men was nothing short of stupendous. This was simply a dandy of a tennis match between two highly charged and unyielding individuals resolutely going after the gold.
Embed from Getty ImagesAt the outset, Djokovic had the upper hand. He held at 30 in the first game of the match and then had a break point that Alcaraz erased with one of his many spectacular drop shot winners. After the Spaniard achieved that hold for 1-1, Djokovic went right back to work, rallying from 0-30 to secure four points in a row. Leading 2-1, he had Alcaraz down 0-40 in the fourth game but once more the 21-year-old dug himself out of danger, connecting impeccably for a forehand winner off the return and then holding on after two deuces for 2-2 with temerity.
The battle was brewing. Alcaraz now made another spirited bid for a break, garnering three break points in the fifth game. Djokovic summoned his inner strength again, saving two of those break points with service winners down the T and wiping away the other by playing serve-and-volley and eliciting an errant backhand return. After three deuces, the Serbian moved to 3-2 by swinging his first serve wide in the ad court and moving in to cut off the high return with an overhead winner.
After both players held easily to lock the set score at 4-4, Djokovic found himself in another psychologically strenuous situation. Five times in the ninth game, Djokovic was down break point but he escaped by playing aggressively in each of those cases. He put away an overhead on the first break point, made an effective backhand swing volley on the second, followed his first serve in to provoke a backhand return error on the third, laced a two-hander crosscourt with good depth and pace to extract an error on the fourth, and came forward with a sharply angled forehand inside out approach to put away a forehand drop volley on the last. After six deuces and 14 minutes, Djokovic made it to 5-4 with that clutch hold.
Alcaraz, however, was unswayed, holding at 30 before Djokovic did the same to reach 6-5 after chasing down an Alcaraz drop shot and steering it deep to coax the Spaniard into a topspin lob long. In the twelfth game, Alcaraz was down set point but with characteristic composure he simply went with a body serve to create an opening for a trademark forehand winner. Soon he held on for 6-6.
And so the stage was set for the critical opening set tie-break. Not a point went against the server until Djokovic laced an acutely angled forehand crosscourt return winner at 3-3. Bolstered by that mini-break, the 37-year-old swiftly won both of his service points on mistakes by the Spaniard. With Alcaraz serving at 3-6, Djokovic scampered forward to reach a drop shot from the Spaniard and chipped it deep down the line. Alcaraz angled a forehand pass sharply crosscourt but the Serbian was there for an elegant drop volley winner. Djokovic had sealed the set seven points to three in the tie-break in 93 arduous yet rewarding minutes.
Now Djokovic went all out for an early break in the second set. Alcaraz led 40-0 in the opening game but lost the next three points. Imperturbably, the Spanish stylist held on from deuce. Down break point in the third game, Alcaraz was similarly composed, unleashing a sparkling inside out forehand winner off a decent return from the Serbian before getting the hold. Once more in the fifth game, Alcaraz drifted into trouble at deuce before holding on again.
Djokovic, meanwhile, was unstoppable on serve. On his way to 3-3, he took 12 of 13 points on his delivery. Not only was he locating his serve immaculately, but he was also backing it up with increasingly penetrating groundstrokes and excellent depth. Alcaraz, however, was ready to make another push. He held at the cost of only one point for 4-3 and then reached deuce on the Djokovic serve in the ninth game. But this was an unshakable Djokovic who was not second guessing himself in the least. On that deuce point he went behind Alcaraz with a forehand down the line to draw an off balance error, and then he stuck with his familiar policy of going down the T for a service winner. 4-4.
Alcaraz survived another deuce game for 5-4 and then Djokovic answered firmly by holding for 5-5 at 30. Both players served love games to make it 6-6. To another tie-break they went. To borrow a cliche, it was do or die for Alcaraz after another hard fought set. For Djokovic, it was an opportunity to avoid a longer afternoon and to realize at last his quest for the gold medal. This would be a defining moment for both players. For Djokovic, it would be among the most important tie-breaks he has ever confronted.
On the first point, Djokovic struck a gorgeous forehand crosscourt winner on the run for the quick mini-break, and then defended commendably to reach 2-0. Alcaraz then cut the gap to 2-1 with a well orchestrated point and then made it to 2-2 with his bread and butter pattern of a kick serve setting up a forehand winner. But, unbeknownst to him, Alcaraz would not win another point the rest of the way.
Djokovic’s response was indicative of his utter resolve to keep moving forward until he could get the job done. At 2-2, he dealt an irrevocable blow to Alcaraz by driving another crosscourt forehand into the clear for an outright winner. Serving on the next point, Djokovic struck a tremendous inside in forehand that landed in the corner and then came forward for an overhead winner. 4-2 Djokovic.
After they changed ends of then court, Alcaraz was demonstrably disturbed by his predicament. On consecutive points, he netted a routine crosscourt forehand and then sent a two-hander down the line into the net. Buoyed by those gifts, Djokovic ended it all in style. With Alcaraz serving at 2-6, Djokovic found an opening and let go of any inhibitions, keeping his return deep and then sending an impeccable forehand inside in out of reach for a match concluding winner. With that final splendid swing, Djokovic completed a run of five points in a row to seal the title, take the gold medal and add the one missing piece to his shining career collection of luminous tennis achievements. The extraordinary accuracy of his serve and the potency of his forehand were the two motors propelling Djokovic to victory.
Embed from Getty ImagesBy virtue of this latest triumph, Djokovic has established himself as one of only five players ever to pull off a coveted career singles “Golden Slam.”, joining Steffi Graf (1988); Andre Agassi (1999); Rafael Nadal (2010); and Serena Williams (2012) in that elite territory. Moreover, Djokovic has now amassed 99 career singles titles. In the “Open Era”, only Jimmy Connors at 109 and Roger Federer (103) have won more among the men. Making the Djokovic achievement all the more remarkable was this fact: it was his first title in his eight 2024 tournament appearances.
Djokovic had commenced his Olympic campaign with a 6–0, 6-1 victory over 36-year-old Australian Mathew Ebden, a doubles specialist who took the Olympic gold with countryman John Peters over the Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. In the second round, the Serbian took on his revered rival Rafael Nadal. Djokovic opened up a 6-1, 4-0 lead against the inimitable left-hander. It seemed entirely possible that Djokovic would prevail 6-1, 6-1 as his timing and execution were letter perfect while Nadal was a mere shadow of what he once was.
But the 14 time French Open champion seemed revitalized in sweeping four consecutive games to reach 4-4 in that second set. Nevertheless, Djokovic broke him in the ninth game and completed a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 win to raise his record to 31-29 against Nadal. In the round of 16, Djokovic took on another left-hander. Dominik Koepfer, the 30-year-old German who was ranked No.70 in the world. Koepfer was competitive in the first set and stayed with Djokovic until 5-5. Thereafter, Djokovic won eight of eleven games to advance to the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-3 scoreline.
In that round, he played formidably against Tsitsipas and took the opening set comfortably, but early in the second set he had an issue with his knee. Djokovic called for the trainer twice at the changeovers and fell behind 0-4 in the second set as he seemed to be trying to figure out how efficiently he could move around the court.
And yet, Djokovic got one service break back and closed the gap to 4-2. Nonetheless, Tsitsipas served for that set at 5-3 and reached triple match point at 40-0. Djokovic somehow escaped to salvage that game and eventually got to a tie-break, winning seven of the last eight points to close out the account 6-3, 7-6 (3), toppling Tsitsipas for the eleventh time in a row after losing two of their first three meetings.
In the semifinal round, the surging Italian Lorenzo Musetti came at Djokovic forcefully, but the Serbian was ready for the challenge and his knee was seemingly no longer an issue. Musetti had lost a high quality five set match to Djokovic in the third round of the French Open a few months ago before reaching the final at the Queen’s Club on grass and then the semifinals at Wimbledon—where he lost to Djokovic in a well played match that the Serbian took in straight sets. He then played in Umag, Croatia and made it to the final there before losing to Francisco Cerundolo.
Musetti immediately flew to Paris for the Olympics and defeated Gael Monfils, Mariano Navone, Taylor Fritz and Sascha Zverev to set up his duel with Djokovic in the penultimate round. Musetti played a remarkable first set against the top seed which was settled at the end by one crucial service break for Djokovic. Musetti led 40-0 in the tenth game and seemed certain to make it to 5-5, but Djokovic swept five points in a row and won the set 6-4. Early in the second set, Musetti was up a break twice but Djokovic captured five games in a row to close out the contest, winning 24 of the last 31 points in an emotionally uplifting 6-4, 6-2 victory.
As for Alcaraz, he marched into the final as inexorably as Djokovic. He started his journey with a 6-3, 6-1 win over world No. 274 Hady Habib. His second round collision with the big serving Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor was a sterner test as Alcaraz saved a set point in the second set of a 6-1, 7-6 (3) encounter. Taking on Roman Safiullin in the round of 16, Alcaraz was a 6-4, 6-2 victor over the 26-year-old who beat him last fall. In the quarterfinals, Alcaraz had a typically difficult duel with Tommy Paul.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Spaniard was too good in the first set but Paul was ahead 3-0 in the second set with two break points for 4-0 that eluded him, and later he served for the set. In the ensuing tie-break, Paul had a set point that the Spaniard saved with a speedy dash forward to chase down a finesse half volley from the American. Alcaraz had time to spare, making a difficult down the line backhand pass look easy. And then Alcaraz cruised through his semifinal against Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1. The Canadien had upended both Daniil Medvedev and Norway’s Casper Ruud but seemed spent when he faced Alcaraz. He then lost the bronze medal match to Musetti in three sets, but the fact remained that his stellar showing in Paris will serve him well in the weeks ahead on the hard courts leading up to the U.S. Open.
Let me offer a few final thoughts on Djokovic. He had made it abundantly clear earlier this season that this was a year when the Olympics was his highest priority. It had long irked Djokovic that he had never been beyond the semifinals in four previous appearances, reaching that round on three occasions. He had only one bronze medal to show for his mighty efforts over the years to garner that elusive gold medal.
This must be one of the most fulfilling triumphs of his illustrious career. Djokovic knew full well that this was his last realistic chance to win the singles at the Olympic Games. That added layers of pressure and angst to an already severe set of circumstances. By claiming the crown this time around, Djokovic adds heft to his legacy and to the case he is making for himself as the greatest player ever to lift a racket. It was not as if an Olympic gold medal was a necessity in terms of his quest for historical supremacy, but it is another feather in his cap.
He will head to New York in a few weeks in search of a fifth U.S. Open title and a 25th major singles title. He already holds the men’s record for Grand Slam singles championships, but he would break a tie with women’s leader Margaret Court if he makes it to that lofty milestone. The view here is that Djokovic will be so gratified by his gold medal success that he will be looser and even more dangerous at the Open. His swagger and confidence will be back. His psyche will be bolstered. He won’t feel as much pressure to defend his crown at the last major of the season, which could free him up to perform more on his own terms and might well result in another triumphant run on the hard courts.
Djokovic is a different man than he was even a few weeks ago. The 37-year-old has a new lease on life. His inspiring victory at the Olympics is going to carry him into the rest of this season and beyond with a renewed spirit, rearranged priorities and a more optimistic outlook. This version of Novak Djokovic will be perhaps more arresting than ever.
