Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz in thrilling fashion to secure a long-awaited Olympic title and complete the career ‘Golden Slam’.
Djokovic, who has won a men’s record 24 majors and swept up every title there is in tennis, finally clinched Olympic gold at his fifth Games.
The Serb put in his best performance of the year to beat French Open and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) in front of a packed crowd in Paris.
He is just the fifth player to win the ‘Golden Slam’ in singles – all four majors and the Olympic title – after Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
Djokovic, 37, left this same court at Roland Garros two months ago needing knee surgery, which put his Olympic dream at risk, and his reaction after Sunday’s win showed what it meant.
He turned towards his box, arms outstretched in disbelief, before throwing his racquet to the floor.
After hugging Spain’s Alcaraz, Djokovic immediately burst into tears and fell to his knees on the middle of the court.
He then unfurled a Serbian flag and clambered into the stands to celebrate with his family and support team.
Alcaraz, 21, was also in tears after the match, but will leave with a silver medal on his Olympic debut.
Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti is the singles bronze medallist, having beaten Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada on Friday.
Source – Olympic tennis: Novak Djokovic beats Carlos Alcaraz to win gold and seal ‘Golden Slam’ – BBC Sport
