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Novak Djokovic’s victory Sunday for his first Olympic gold medal was a double surprise. First, he wasn’t guaranteed to win, despite being the GOAT of men’s singles. The 37-year-old, who has spent much of the year dealing with knee problems, was facing Carlos Alcaraz, the 21-year-old Spanish phenom who beat Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last month.
The second surprise was his intense reaction after the victory. When he scored the final point, he let out a loud shout, threw his arms up in the air and dropped his racket. This is typical Djokovic behaviour. But it was after he went to greet Alcaraz at the net that his emotion began to take over. He fell to his knees on the red clay, then rested on his elbows, his head buried in his hands and his chest heaving with emotion.
After a few moments, he got down on his knees and raised his hands to the sky. Sobbing, he made the sign of the cross. Djokovic was then led to the stands, where he immediately grabbed his young daughter while his wife, son and team surrounded him in a huge hug. He had finally achieved his dream.
At this point, even the most casual tennis fan has seen Djokovic win a tournament. He falls to the ground, he jumps and screams, he hugs his family and his team. It’s not routine, but it is routine. He has won every Grand Slam tournament multiple times. He holds the record for most Grand Slam victories among men in tennis history, and is tied with Margaret Court for the all-time record (24).
That’s why his response was so unexpected. After winning bronze in 2008 at the age of 21, then finishing fourth in 2012 and 2021, he Really He wanted to win gold. And it was the first time in a long time that he was willing to let the world see a part of himself that wasn’t perfect and balanced. He wanted something, failed, had to fight for it, and finally succeeded. It’s one of the most human stories ever.
Djokovic’s place in tennis history and all he has accomplished is what makes his answer so resonant and touching. The Olympics don’t matter to tennis (neither the WTA nor the ATP award ranking points for the Games), but the Olympics matter to him. This wasn’t just another notch on his Grand Slam belt. He wanted to win gold for himself and Serbia.
He nearly lost his head on several occasions. There were moments when you could almost feel that desperate recklessness lurking just beneath the surface, ready to throw him off balance. He shouted at his box, accusing them of staying silent and not helping him when he needed it. He looked at Alcaraz in bewilderment, shaking his head every time he turned one of Djokovic’s winners into a winner of his own.
But Djokovic never backed down. He never panicked. He never gave up. Facing a 21-year-old at the very beginning of an already exciting and accomplished career, the 37-year-old drew on every lesson he had learned in tennis, every experience he had acquired, every endurance he could muster. Beating Alcaraz wasn’t just about tennis on the court. It was also about mental toughness. Which player could best withstand the pressure?
Sunday was Djokovic. The crowd was slightly in favor of Alcaraz, but it was clear that the spectators wanted to be entertained by great tennis more than anything else. Djokovic has not always received full support at Roland Garros, but the crowd was 100 percent behind him when the final point was scored. The crowd roared with recognition and celebration as the greatest male tennis player of all time finally realized his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal.
At that moment, there was no tomorrow. He wasn’t thinking about his next tournament, or the US Open, or his knee injury, or even Carlos Alcaraz. There was just Djokovic, collapsed on the clay, doing what thousands of Olympians around the world have done before him: crying tears of joy, screaming with excitement, yelling with pride, desperate to hug the people who helped him every day on his journey.
There are many moments that will remain etched in Djokovic’s memory. But that late-career Olympic gold medal will be a memorable one 10, 20, 30 years from now. It represents so much of the spirit of tennis and the true nature of dedication and commitment. But it also represents so much of Djokovic: for a man who has always dedicated himself to being the exception, the different, his most touching moment was when he simply let his true emotions shine through and let them carry him away.
