At some point, as the cheering of and around Novak Djokovic on Court Philippe-Chatrier slowly died down, a fan waved his very own Serbian flag once again. “GOAT” was written above the national colors of red, blue and white. It is the abbreviation for “Greatest Of All Time” that is now used in many sports. And in tennis, since Sunday, it has finally been clear who deserves this honor.
Djokovic won the Olympic final at the Stade Roland Garros with 7:6 (7:4) and 7:6 (7:2) against Carlos Alcaraz, thereby winning the last major title he was missing. The victory came as a surprise – unlike so many before it. The young Spaniard had triumphed here just two months ago at the French Open. And followed that up with victory at Wimbledon shortly afterwards. At the All England Club, Alcaraz dominated the final and made Djokovic look exactly the 16 years older that separate the two tennis stars.
But now the empire has struck back – and what this Olympic victory means to the Serbian national hero was immediately apparent after the match point. Djokovic burst into tears, fell to his knees on Center Court after his opponent’s warm congratulations and simply couldn’t believe it.
It almost seemed as if the tennis legend himself no longer believed he could complete his collection of titles. He has rarely been so happy about a triumph – no wonder for an athlete who has proven time and time again that he is the best in his 20 years as a professional.
In 2021, Alexander Zverev stopped him on his way to the Golden Slam
He is the only tennis professional to have won all Grand Slam tournaments three times, and he has also won each of the nine current Masters 1000 events at least once – also exclusively. He was also successful in the Davis Cup with Serbia and no other player has led the world rankings for longer than Djokovic. But he never managed to win the Olympic gold medal. Until this Sunday.
He failed in the semifinals three times at the Olympics. Sometimes it seemed as if he didn’t attach all the importance to the games. After all, he won bronze once in 2008. 13 years later, Djokovic thought he was on his way to the Golden Slam, but in Tokyo, a furious Alexander Zverev was too big an obstacle. Weeks later, Djokovic also missed the calendar Grand Slam.
All Olympic tennis champions from Paris
- Women, singles: Qinwen Zheng (China)
- Men, singles: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
- Women, doubles: final still in progress
- Men, doubles: Matthew Ebden and John Peers (Australia)
- Mixed, doubles: Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic)
All of these are now memories of less successful moments for the 37-year-old Serb. Although he will most likely not get the chance to play this Grand Slam with successes at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in one calendar year, this is a tiny, missing piece of the puzzle.
And even if Djokovic is now definitely the most successful tennis player in the history of the sport, there will always be records that even he cannot break. He now has 99 tournament victories to his credit, including Olympic gold, and his 100th should not be long in coming. But whether he will be able to reach the record of 109, once set by the American Jimmy Connors, is at least questionable.
99
Tournaments Djokovic has won in his career, only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) have won more
Records have always been important for a player like Novak Djokovic. They allowed him to at least make up for his not being as popular as his rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And unlike the Swiss and the Spaniard, he has now swept everything. Federer was denied Olympic singles gold in his entire life and Nadal was never able to win the ATP Finals, the unofficial world championship at the end of the year.
Djokovic was probably even happier about the “Nole” chants in the Olympic final on Sunday. Tennis fans have long since made their peace with him, even if he hasn’t always made it easy for them – and this is also part of his biography.
Djokovic often seemed dogged, even stubborn, in his career
Too often in his unique career, the Serb has appeared dogged, even stubborn and at times even over-aggressive. In 2020, he was disqualified from the US Open for shooting a lineswoman in a fit of rage. His vaccination farce in the run-up to the 2022 Australian Open, which became a political issue, is also unforgettable.
In the meantime, however, Novak Djokovic has reached a status that makes all these negative headlines pale in comparison. In sporting terms, he is now playing in a league of his own. Of course, he still needs one title at a Grand Slam tournament to claim this record for himself. So far, he has 24 major titles, together with Australian Margaret Court. And no one should think that he doesn’t really want to win that 25th victory.
More about the Olympics at Tagesspiegel Plus:
“Legitimation of animal cruelty” How far did Isabell Werth have to go to win Olympic gold in the team? Hostility towards female boxers Absurd drama involving Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting Four examples from Paris – and a secret How artificial intelligence is shaping the Olympic Games
The Olympic Games in Paris showed him that he can achieve anything with his boundless will. It is what separates the great from the greatest and the greatest from the greatest. And Novak Djokovic can now finally claim this title – just as his fans have been doing for a long time.
