PARIS -- Novak Djokovic walked back out onto the court at Philippe-Chatrier and dropped to his knees.
As the fans in the crowd -- still waving a mixture of Serbian and Spanish flags -- stood collectively on their feet, loudly cheering and with their phones pointed directly at him, Djokovic slumped over with his head on the ground, still in disbelief. He eventually lifted his head up and pointed to the sky.
A lifelong dream realized. 🥹
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
Novak Djokovic is overcome by emotion after winning his first Olympic gold medal. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/g7GI6cxmYa
When he walked to sit in his chair, some 50 seconds later, he leaned back with a towel on his face and sobbed.
More than 20 years after his first match victory on the ATP Tour, 16 years after his debut major title, and in his fifth Olympic appearance, Djokovic had finally achieved the one title, the one line on his résumé, that had eluded him:
Olympic gold medalist.
He had needed tiebreaks in both sets to defeat Carlos Alcaraz, his 21-year-old rival from Spain, who had defeated him in the Wimbledon final just three weeks earlier. The two had battled with one electric rally after another. But after two hours and 50 minutes, it was Djokovic who would emerge victorious, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2).
As he cried with his family in the stands -- his body shaking as he clutched onto his children and the Serbian flag -- and when he proudly sang the national anthem on the medal podium, it was clear this moment meant everything to him. Even to a man who had achieved virtually everything else in the sport, including a record-tying 24 Grand Slam titles, bringing home the gold medal to his beloved country was a life's dream accomplished.
"I'm just over the moon. Honestly, everything that I felt in that moment when I won really surpassed everything I thought or hoped that it [was] going to be," Djokovic told a room full of reporters on Sunday night, with the gold medal still around his neck and the Serbian flag wrapped around his shoulders. "I thought carrying the flag at the [2012 Olympic] opening ceremony was the best feeling ever until I experienced today. Being on that court with [the] Serbian flag raising and singing [the] Serbian anthem and wearing the gold [medal] around my neck, I think nothing can beat that in terms of professional sport."
DJOKOVIC HAS HISTORICALLY struggled at the Olympics. He won a bronze medal in singles during his debut in 2008, but had never made his way back to the podium.
But he won just about everything else. When he arrived in Tokyo in 2021, he was on a quest for the ultra-exclusive Golden Slam, in which he was attempting to win the four Slams and Olympic singles gold all in one year. He had won the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon that year and advanced to the semifinals at the Games. After easily taking the first set (6-1) over Alexander Zverev, it all came apart. He won just four games in the final two sets and his hopes of joining only Steffi Graf (1988) in accomplishing that feat were dashed. He lost in the bronze-medal match too, and then had his calendar Grand Slam dreams squashed at the US Open in the final.
Since then, he has become the winningest man in major history and tied Margaret Court's longstanding record for the most Slam singles titles, and made a case for Greatest Of All Time status. However, this season hasn't gone to plan.
Before arriving in Paris for the Olympics, he hadn't won a Slam this season, nor had he won a title of any kind. It marked his worst start in a season since 2006. He sustained a right knee injury during the French Open -- at Roland Garros, the same site of the Olympics -- and was forced to withdraw ahead of his quarterfinal match. He underwent surgery for a torn medial meniscus on June 5, initially putting his status for Wimbledon in jeopardy.
But he returned in time for the tournament, only to have his run at the All England Club ruined, for the second year in a row, by Alcaraz in a lopsided straight-set contest. Still, even hours after the loss, he remained hopeful for the Olympics.
"Let's see how physically and mentally I'm going to feel," he said. "Hopefully I can find the right tennis because I'm going to need all I have and more to go to the final of the Olympic Games."
Up close and personal at Djokovic v. Alcaraz. 👀#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/xH13p4J8oH
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
Perhaps helped by the slower court speed of the clay, or of the best-of-three-set format, Djokovic has played some of his best tennis of the season this week in Paris. He defeated longtime foe and 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the second round, two-time major finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals, and the surging Lorenzo Musetti, who ultimately claimed the bronze medal, in the semifinals.
On Sunday, the near-capacity crowd split their loyalties, often chanting for both players at the same time and resulting in an indiscernible mashup of their names. Djokovic fought for every point. While Alcaraz's youth, speed and dazzling ability to cover the court were on display throughout, Djokovic was patient and methodical and, despite occasional moments of frustration, held him off with his own signature ball striking and movement. Serbian fans, several of whom were wearing variations of fake gold medals, shouted "Idemo," his trademark phrase of encouragement, during crucial moments.
Throughout his run at Roland Garros, he never dropped a set, joining Serena Williams -- who was in attendance on Sunday -- as the only singles champions since tennis was reintroduced at the Olympics in 1988 to do so en route to the gold medal. He became Serbia's second medalist of the 2024 Games and he is now just the fifth tennis player to achieve the career Golden Slam, joining Graff, Nadal, Williams and Andre Agassi.
A still ecstatic and reflective Djokovic said his past struggles at the Olympics and the challenges he faced this season only made Sunday's victory even more special.
"This kind of supersedes everything that I imagined, that I hoped that I could experience and that I could feel," Djokovic said. "The fact that I won the bronze in [my] first Olympic Games and ever since then failed to win the medal and played three out of four Olympic Games in semifinals and couldn't overcome that obstacle. And then now at age 37, [playing against a] 21-year-old, that is probably the best player in the world right now, [who won] Roland Garros, [won] back-to-back at Wimbledon, and [is] playing incredible tennis.
"Just when I take everything in consideration, this probably is the biggest sporting success I've ever had in my career."
With nothing left to prove, and with no elusive title left to chase, Djokovic admitted his career was in some ways complete, but said he had no plans of walking away anytime soon. He said he hadn't ruled out the possibility of competing at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles as members of his team laughed in the corner of the room, and after jokingly defusing a question about running for the Serbian presidency, Djokovic said he was just trying to enjoy what he had worked so hard to achieve.
"I love this sport," he said. "I don't play it only to win the tournament. I play it because I really love competition. ... I don't know about the future, to be honest. I really want to be in the present moment to celebrate. [I] worked very hard, sacrificed a lot to be in this moment. It was a long journey, many, many years of dreaming to be holding the gold medal. So now it's about happiness, joy and celebration."