Novak Djokovic fulfilled his long-awaited dream of winning Olympic gold for Serbia and burst into emotions after beating Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics 2024 final on Sunday, August 4. After a long wait of 16 years, the tennis legend finally earned the only piece missing from his glorious career and did not hold himself from showing emotions.
The 37-year-old Djokovic descended on his knees after winning a thrilling final by 7-6, 7-6 at the packed iconic Philippe-Chatrier court in Paris. He was literally shaking with emotions and then ran into the stands to join his family. He cried out loud to show his never-seen-before emotional side. He was crying loudly while celebrating with his family and support staff as the thousands cheered loudly.
Termed as one of the biggest events of the 33rd Summer Games, both Djokovic and Alcaraz produced an absolute thriller. Both were unable to break each other's serves throughout the match as the Serbian claimed both set tiebreakers comfortably to claim his first Gold and second Olympic medal.
With 24 Grand Slam titles, a record 428 weeks as no.1 and now with an Olympic gold, Djokovic achieved everything there is in tennis. He also became the only fifth tennis player after Steffi Graf (1988), Andre Agassi (1999), Rafael Nadal (2010) and Serena Williams (2012) to complete a 'Career Golden Slam', a term given to players who have won all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz, 21, was the youngest finalist in the men's singles in Olympics history. Many tipped the Spanish star favourite over Djokovic after his famous win in the Wimbledon 2024 final last month. Alcaraz kept Djokovic on his toes throughout the match but lost his focus during the set tiebreakers.
Alcaraz, playing in his maiden Olympics, also burst into tears during his post-match speech.
"I gave everything, it’s painful to lose the way I lost this match," Alcaraz said. "I had my chances to probably be up in the match. I couldn’t take it. Novak was playing great. He deserves this. In the tough moments, he increased his level.
"He played unbelievable shots... an unbelievable game. I’m a bit disappointed but honestly, I’ll leave the court with my head really really high. Fighting for Spain was everything to me. I’m proud of the way I played today.”
