The Olympic Games final was a replay of the Wimbledon final in July, which the Spaniard won fairly easily in three straight sets.
World number three Carlos Alcaraz faced world number two Novak Djokovic. But now the circumstances were different, and the 37-year-old Serb, who has won almost everything that can be won but lacks an Olympic gold medal, was hungry for revenge.
Djokovic took the first set in a tiebreak on the center court Philippe Chatrier on the Roland Garros clay in Paris. It was a long and sweaty first set (7–6), over an hour and a half long.
In the second, the stars continued to serve up magnificent, even tennis to the great delight of the audience. They followed each other to 6–6 and a new tiebreak. There, Djokovic won again. Now he can call himself an Olympic champion. After the win, he burst into tears and held a towel over his face.
I'm still in shock, don't know what to say. Finally, I've done it (won Olympic gold), says Novak Djokovic in the Max broadcast.
He had 24 Grand Slam titles and a total of 98 singles titles before the final. Now he has 99 – but most importantly, he has an Olympic gold medal.
We played almost three hours in two sets, he says about the final against Alcaraz, whom he praises for his play.
Djokovic played with a gray knee brace due to a previous injury, but it didn't seem to affect him significantly.
The 37-year-old Djokovic showed that old is gold – and he is now the oldest man to win Olympic gold in the singles tournament since 1908.
