The long wait is over for Novak Djokovic.
After nearly two decades of consistently winning the biggest titles and breaking some of the most difficult records that tennis has to offer, the Serbian on Sunday finally added an Olympic gold medal to his sizeable collection of honours. Djokovic, who has long spoken of winning Olympic gold for his country as one of his most sought-after goals, was visibly emotional after overcoming Carlos Alcaraz in a gripping encounter in Paris.
“I’m overwhelmed with everything that I’m feeling right now,” said Djokovic in post-match comments to NBC. “Millions of different emotions of course: positive, too proud, too happy. The possibility to fight for a gold and to win a gold for the first time in my career for my country is arguably the biggest success I ever had.
“Of course, I want everything there is to win in my individual career, but winning Davis Cup and particularly the golden medal at an Olympic Games for Serbia at the age of thirty-seven is unprecedented. Just starting my celebration, I can’t wait for what’s coming up in the next forty-eight hours.”
37 years old.
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Olympic #GOLD medalist.
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Long acknowledged as one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen, Djokovic added an Olympic gold medal to his record 24 major singles titles by overcoming Alcaraz in a pair of tie-breaks. The Serbian is the fifth player to complete the Career Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam events and Olympic gold in singles, after Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
“Yes, [my] puzzle, it is [complete],” acknowledged Djokovic, who has spent more weeks as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings than any other player (428). “I’m telling myself always that I am enough, because I can be very self-critical. It’s probably one of the biggest internal battles that I keep on fighting with myself, that I don’t feel like I’ve done enough. That I haven’t been enough in my life, on the court and off the court, so it’s a big lesson for me.
“I’m super grateful for the blessing to win a historic gold medal for my country, to complete the Golden Slam, to complete all the records.”
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