 "An emotional Novak Djokovic celebrated his Olympic gold medal with his family after the men's singles final in Paris on Sunday. Reuters")
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic could not control his emotions after he clinched his maiden Olympic gold medal on Sunday, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles tennis final of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Djokovic defeated the Spaniard 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) to clinch the only major title that had been missing from his stellar trophy cabinet.
Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and moreOn winning the men’s singles gold medal contest, Djokovic shared a customary hand shake with Alcaraz. However, Djokovic could not hold his tears as he began crying with joy. The winner of 24 Grand Slams then carried the Serbian flag around the court.
And just a few seconds later, Djokovic could be seen going into his player’s box to join the celebrations with his family and his team. That moment was made even more special when the 37 year-old shared an emotional hug with his daughter Tara.
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“We almost played three hours in two sets. It was an incredible battle,” the Belgrade born athlete said after the match.
“I believed that I could win, but to actually win it; it’s unbelievable. He keeps on coming back and keeps on asking me to play my best tennis. My first set I started well, I had chances, he had chances as well. It was probably fair to end both sets in a tiebreak. When it mattered I came up with big shots and big moments. I put my heart, my body, my soul, my family, my everything on the line here to win the Olympic gold at the age of 37,” he added.
Djokovic said that it was a special feeling to play for his country. “The pride to play for Serbia. Carlos and Rafa [Nadal] love to play for Spain, Andy [Murray] for Britain, Roger [Federer] for Switzerland. You just see the reactions when they win. It’s special. It’s different,” he said.