Score One for the Old Guys! Aging Novak Djokovic Grabs Olympic Gold From Kid Wonder Carlos Alcaraz. “ And I add , Which This Author Should Have Mentioned He Was Not Vaxxed And Was Not Disqualified This Time “ —-“A Hero In Many Ways “

The history-making Serbian, 37 years old, wins the biggest tennis honor that eluded him. To get it, he had to deliver a master class to a 21-year-old friendly nemesis.

Novak Djokovic was the underdog in the Olympic men’s singles final. MIGUEL MEDINA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

By Jason GayFollow

Aug. 4, 2024 at 12:21 pm ET

31

Gift unlocked article

Listen

(6 min)

Paris

He wanted this badly, but there was real skepticism. Not universal skepticism: He believed, of course, and his loyal Nole Family superfans believed, but the oddsmakers installed Novak Djokovic as a 2-1 underdog in the Olympic men’s singles final Sunday. 

It was absurd if you thought about it for a minute: so little faith in the most accomplished men’s tennis player who’s ever lived? Even with a brace on his right knee from meniscus surgery in early June, the 37-year-old Djokovic entered these Paris Games as the No. 1 seed. 

Bet against Djokovic? When is that ever a good idea?

The reason there was doubt was the player on the other side: Carlos Alcaraz, the man of the moment and future in men’s tennis, a 21-year-old tornado from Spain who had already rolled up and rolled over Djokovic at Wimbledon a few weeks prior. 

Granted, Wimbledon was on grass, not clay like these Games, but Alcaraz was great on the terre battue also, having won his first French Open in June in a generational baton-pass from his tennis idol and doubles partner, Rafael Nadal. 

Alcaraz would be tough, but when are these matches easy? What makes Djokovic an all-timer is the ability to push that boulder up the mountain again and again, to dig deep physically and emotionally to find that little extra against the best. 

Think about it. He’s won a record 24 majors in his career, most of them won against a fellow pair of legends, Nadal and Roger Federer. Djokovic’s entire career has been a siege, with the Serbian playing the spoiler—he became the player who beat everyone’s favorite player. Alcaraz may have been expected to cruise to the gold medal, but Djokovic was the experienced sage who had been here many times before. 

On this warm afternoon at Roland-Garros, that experience mattered. Djokovic played some of the best and guttiest tennis of his aging career to dismiss Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in an exhausting but riveting 2 hour and 50 minute match. The win delivered Djokovic the only significant title that has eluded him in his history-making career: 

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz had beaten Djokovic at Wimbledon a few weeks earlier. PHOTO: CLAUDIA GRECO/REUTERS

Olympic gold.

It was a master class of tennis knowledge and tenacity, an afternoon for the Obi-Wans. Alcaraz gave Djokovic all of his weapons—that cracking forehand, those cruel drop shots, a serve that continues to get better—and Djokovic repeatedly denied the Spaniard the momentum he craved. The match was absurdly close—two tiebreaks; it doesn’t get closer—and Djokovic managed to make the points that mattered most. 

Djokovic had targeted these Games—this specific match—for years. The Olympics were a hobgoblin—at London 2012, he fell to eventual winner Andy Murray in the semis and dropped the bronze medal match to Juan Martin del Potro. In Rio, he got bounced in the opening round. “One of the toughest losses of my life,” he said tearfully.

Tokyo somehow went worse: A temperamental Djokovic imploding against Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, then another loss in the bronze medal match, this time to Pablo Carreno Busta. Frustrated, Djokovic indecorously fled town rather than play a bronze medal mixed doubles match with his national team partner.

Not great. It was a hole in his extraordinary resume—the extremely unusual yeah, but in his tennis career. 

He knew it, too. He arrived in Paris with enthusiasm and a calm head. He blew through his first match against Matthew Ebden with double bagels and capably navigated his thankless next assignment, playing Nadal in singles in Philippe-Chatrier, presumably the latter’s last time. 

On a day not a soul inside would be backing him, Djokovic rolled Nadal out in straights, gesturing to his ear after closing out a close game, but otherwise keeping his cool, saying later he hoped this wasn’t the finale, that he’d square off with Nadal again.

From there he charged to the final, with Carlitos, who had been involved in another circus in Paris, his doubles pairing with Nadal, aka Nadalcaraz, which ended unceremoniously to the low-key Team USA specialists Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. 

You could tell it broke Alcaraz’s heart, not being able to deliver Nadal to the podium, and here was a chance to redeem that, with a singles gold medal for Spain. Why not? Alcaraz had been on a total heater all summer, and he hadn’t dropped a singles set in Paris. 

Djokovic celebrates after winning the gold medal. PHOTO: MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES

He ran into a guy who wanted it more. Usually I roll my eyes at the suggestion that one athlete craves success more than the other, but how could that not be the case here? One player was just at the brilliant start—Alcaraz is so young, he will get to play Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 before he turns 30.  

For Djokovic and the Games, this was likely it (or is it?). When it was over, he dropped his racket to the ground, walked over to the net, fell to his knees and pointed skyward. 

The tears arrived—this time, joyful ones. Djokovic is a complicated champion who has struggled to find his footing with the tennis public, but at Roland-Garros they got right up on their feet for the gold medal winner. 

He’d let them know. Bet against Novak Djokovic? Who would do such a thing?

Write to Jason Gay at Jason.Gay@wsj.com