Novak Djokovic wants Carlos Alcaraz to keep smiling. The Serbian sent a heartfelt message to the Spaniard on Monday after an emotional end to his match at the Paris Olympics.
The two-tiebreak affair lasted nearly three hours, a worthy follow-up to the last best-of-three final between the two men: the three-hour, 49-minute championship match in Cincinnati last summer, which Djokovic also won 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4).
After the match, Alcaraz was candid about what it meant to him not to win the top prize: “I feel like I let the Spanish people down. I feel like they were waiting for the gold medal.”
“I’m really disappointed but honestly, I’m going to leave the pitch with my head held high,” he continued. “I gave everything I had fighting for Spain. It meant everything to me, so I’m proud of the way I played today.”
But Djokovic wanted the 21-year-old to look at the glass half full. In a message on X, formerly Twitter, the 24-time major champion called their match “epic” and described their already iconic rivalry as tennis’s version of the famous rivalry between Alcaraz’s favorite soccer club, Real Madrid, and Barcelona. He ended with a message of encouragement to the young prodigy about his future.
