Novak Djokovic begins his celebrations after beating Carlos Alcaraz. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Even as Novak Djokovic’s era of dominance touched every other significant tournament in the world, as he swept up every grand slam title, all Masters 1000 events and compiled more weeks at No 1 than any other player in the history of the sport, the Olympics remained a void that he just could not fill. His lifelong pursuit of an Olympic gold has led to some of the most excruciating moments of his career, forcing him to find his way back from defeats that could have easily broken him.
Few triumphs in Djokovic’s career have been straightforward and his success over the past 16 years has been driven by his peerless resilience; his ability to rebound, to put himself in the line of fire once more and eventually find a way through.
In surely his final realistic opportunity at the age of 37, Djokovic refused to let the moment pass him by as he produced a sublime performance to hold off Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in two brutal, quality sets and become a gold medallist at last. Djokovic is the oldest tennis player to win an Olympic singles gold medal, which he achieved without dropping a set.
While Djokovic had previously considered his role as Serbia’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony of London 2012 the proudest moment of his career, on Sunday it changed: “This kind of supersedes everything that I imagined, hoped, that I could experience and that I could feel,” he said.
On this very same court exactly two months ago, Djokovic tore his meniscus during his French Open fourth round match and he underwent surgery a day later. His run to the Wimbledon final on his return was remarkable in itself, but he was then flattened by Alcaraz. In light of that defeat, he began this final as the clear underdog.
But from the beginning of his time on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Djokovic made it clear that this would be different. He flew out of the blocks, striking the ball with depth and penetration as he looked to take the ball early and take time from the Spaniard. As Alcaraz soon found his rhythm, eviscerating forehands and maddening Djokovic with his incredible defence, the intensity was sky high throughout. Djokovic continued to serve extremely well, he kept Alcaraz guessing with smart net forays and impeccable shot selection throughout.
In the ensuing tiebreak, as Alcaraz’s error count continued to rise, Djokovic stormed ahead at 3-3 with an incredible angled forehand return winner. He never looked back, ending a masterpiece of a 92 minute set with a drop volley winner at full stretch.
While an intensity drop after such a tough set would have been logical, Djokovic refused to let up, generating an early break point on his opponent’s serve in set two. But Alcaraz matched his level throughout the set and they reached another tiebreak. With the gold medal so close, Djokovic threw himself every last ball and he attacked his forehand without hesitation. In his absolute desperation to win, he elevated his level in the final stretch, playing a dominant tiebreak to seal an unforgettable win.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played, maybe, I don’t know, a few times in my life, on such a high level, intensely for three hours, only two sets,” he said.
After greeting his fallen rival warmly at the net, Djokovic collapsed to the ground by the service line and as he wept tears of joy and relief, his hands shaking. He eventually returned to his seat and sobbed into his towel before climbing into the crowd with a Serbian flag and crying on the shoulders of his family and team members. As Djokovic tearfully celebrated, Alcaraz had to stop his interview with Eurosport as he too broke down in tears.
Later, Alcaraz said his tears were because he felt that he had “let all the Spanish people down” with his defeat. After composing himself, he expressed his pride after an incredible week in his career. “I think I made them proud. I made them believe in a certain way and I’m proud about the way that I represented my flag,” he said.
Djokovic’s triumph is an incredible achievement for so many reasons. Before this year, he had been to the semi-finals of the Olympics on three of his four appearances, each run ending in an excruciating defeat. His Olympic dreams were so big that he had never been able to play with his usual clarity in the decisive moments of these events.
This season has also been extremely difficult for reasons beyond his recent injury and he had not managed to win a title all year. It would have been natural for him to wonder whether he had reached an inflection point in his journey and if his age was finally catching up with him. Instead, his resilience has yielded one of his greatest triumphs.
“When I take everything in consideration, this probably is the biggest sporting success I’ve ever had in my career,” he said.
