Djokovic beats Alcaraz in singles for gold

A thrilling Olympic men’s singles final at Roland Garros on Sunday saw 37-year-old Novak Djokovic defeat Carlos Alcaraz of Spain to clinch his career Golden Slam. After heartbreak in Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo, Djokovic won 7-6(3) 7-6(2) in front of an excited crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier to finally capture the trophy. Top seed Djokovic defeated Alcaraz in one of his best performances to become the fifth player to win all four singles Grand Slams and the Olympic title.

One hour and 33 minutes into the match, neither player let up as they battled for dominance in a series of thrilling games. In the second set tiebreak, Djokovic found another gear and won with a brilliant forehand winner down the line after Alcaraz broke first. After consoling Alcaraz at the net, Djokovic sank to his knees and grieved in the center of the court before crawling into the crowd to be surrounded by his family, friends, and team.

Djokovic, the oldest Olympic singles champion since 1988, screamed tears of joy, but Alcaraz, 21, was inconsolable after losing the opportunity to add the gold medal to his French Open and Wimbledon titles. Djokovic knew he had three Olympic singles semi-final losses and understood Paris was his last chance to add to his men’s record 24 Grand Slam championships. Overcoming his shattering loss to Alcaraz in last month’s Wimbledon final, he became the first man to win the Olympic singles without dropping a set.

“It was an incredible fight and I had to play my best tennis,” an emotional Djokovic told Eurosport before the medals ceremony as Serbian home supporters celebrated. It was fair that both sets ended in tiebreaks. I gave my heart and soul to earn gold. “I did it for my country first, for Serbia.” Djokovic follows Andre Agassi, Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams, and Steffi Graf in winning all four Grand Slams plus the Olympic title.