Djokovic defies odds to claim Olympic gold in men’s tennis

Novak Djokovic defied bookmaker odds, age, form and an injured knee to defeat Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in the final of the Olympics men’s singles tennis on Sunday in Paris.

The victory hands Djokovic his first gold medal in five attempts.

Heading into the match, the Serbian superstar was a heavy underdog with tennis bookmakers.

The 37-year-old had injured his knee less than two months ago at the French Open, requiring surgery before Wimbledon.

While he managed to compete in London, Djokovic was soundly defeated in the final by Alcaraz.

Facing the same opposition just weeks later on clay, tennis betting sites put the veteran at +220 to prevail, while Alcaraz was at a low -333.33 to claim gold.

Despite having not won a title all year, or defeated a top-10 player, Djokovic produced his best tennis of the season to win the Olympic final in just shy of three hours.

Djokovic calls Olympic gold his biggest success

After the match, it was clear how much Olympic gold meant to Djokovic.

The former world No.1 collapsed on court, visibly shaking and crying as he celebrated his success.

“I thought that the 2012 opening ceremony in London — carrying the flag for my country at the Olympic Games — is the best feeling that an athlete can have,” he said afterwards.

“Until today. This kind of supersedes everything that I imagined, that I hoped I could experience, and that I could feel.”

Djokovic has broken almost every record in the book when it comes to men’s tennis, but an Olympic gold medal had eluded him for two decades.

“The fact that I won the bronze in the first Olympic Games and ever since then, failed to win the medal,” he explained.

“Then now, at age 37, with a 21-year-old that is probably the best player in the world right now, playing incredible tennis.

“When I take everything in consideration, this probably is the biggest sporting success I’ve had in my career.”

Alcaraz devastated but determined to learn from loss

On the other side of the net, Alcaraz was also crying, but for very different reasons.

The Spaniard will have felt like the gold medal was there for the taking, considering he has won the past two Grand Slams and defeated Djokovic so thoroughly just weeks ago.

However, errors in crucial moments let him down and mean he will have to wait four years for his next opportunity.

“I couldn’t think things clearly,” Alcaraz said of his performance in the Olympics final.

“Thinking about that moment, it was really close at the end of the match.

“I felt that I let all the Spanish people down a little bit, in some way.

“You know, I know that most Spanish people were wanting my gold medal, and myself as well.

“I worked for it, I went for it, and it couldn’t happen.

“That’s why I got emotional at the end. I couldn’t make all the Spanish people proud.”

As he has already done multiple times in his career, Alcaraz is resolved to learn from the loss and come back stronger.

“I’m going to learn from these situations,” he declared.

“I remember last year, standing in this shed, 2023, I said that I’m going to learn from the moment that I lost against Novak. And I did after that.

“I’m going to say the same [today].

“I’m going to learn to be a better player, I’m not going to make the same mistakes as I did today.”

Despite the loss, Alcaraz is still favoured to win the upcoming US Open, which commences in late August.

Tennis bookies have him at +137 for the title, marginally ahead of Djokovic (+187) and Jannik Sinner (+225).

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