Now he has won everything there is to win: The magisterial Novak Djokovic defeats the strong Carlos Alcaraz and wins Olympic gold.
Novak Djokovic is the greatest. At 37, the Serb from Belgrade also wins singles gold at the Summer Games in Paris after 24 Grand Slam titles. He is the oldest player to achieve this feat.
Djokovic wins the final against Carlos Alcaraz in almost three hours 7:6 (7:3), 7:6 (7:2). And he did so just three weeks after losing to the 21-year-old Spaniard in the Wimbledon final.
In the run-up to the match, Djokovic said that it was his dream to win the gold medal for Serbia. It was the last missing title in his palmarès. What this triumph really means to Djokovic becomes clear after the match. The Serb is overcome with emotion and sheds tears of redemption.
Djokovic reconciled himself with the Olympics in the fall of his career. The Serb won a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008. Since then, he has not won a medal in the singles - although he has always been the top favorite. In 2012 at Wimbledon, he lost the semi-final against Andy Murray and the match for third place against Juan Martin Del Potro. Four years later in Rio, Djokovic met Del Potro in the starting round and lost. And three years ago in Tokyo, Djokovic competed in singles, doubles and mixed and came away empty-handed. In the singles, he lost the semi-final against Alexander Zverev and the match for third place against Pablo Carreño-Busta.
Djokovic is only the third man after Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal to triumph at all Grand Slam tournaments plus the Olympic Games. Among the women, only Steffi Graf and Serena Williams have achieved this feat.
The final in the live ticker
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 7:6
Djokovic wins the tiebreak and takes gold
After the gold ball, Djokovic is overcome with emotion. He really wanted this victory - and he deserved it. But this final didn't deserve a loser. Alcaraz also showed outstanding
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 6:6
Djokovic holds and is in the tiebreak
The second set also goes into a tiebreak. Like Alcaraz before him, Djokovic doesn't concede a point.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 5:6
Alcaraz takes the game to zero
We haven't seen that yet in the second set, Alcaraz takes a game without conceding a point. He leads 6:5 and is at least in the tiebreak.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 5:5
Djokovic gets his serve through
The two deliver the purest highlight show. So far, however, the server has always won the game in the end.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 4:5
Alcaraz makes it exciting
Alcaraz leads 40:0 and then loses three points in a row. At 40:40, the two play a crazy rally, which Alcaraz wins. He also secures the next point to take a 5:4 lead in the second set.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 4:4
Djokovic gets into trouble
Alcaraz robs himself of a possible break chance with a "simple" mistake. Djokovic remains on course.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 3:4
Alcaraz without trouble for once
For once, the Spaniard doesn't break a sweat on his own serve and leads 4:3.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 3:3
Djokovic confident on his own serve
Alcaraz takes a 15:0 lead, but it remains his only point on Djokovic's serve in the second set.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 2:3
Alcaraz stays cool
The Spaniard has to fight hard again to hold the service. But he finds a way and takes a 3:2 lead.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 2:2
Djokovic equalizes
Djokovic is no longer letting anything burn on his own serve. Once again he doesn't concede a point to Alcaraz.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 1:2
Alcaraz withstands the pressure
The Spaniard would probably like another quick game, but once again he has to fend off a break point. But he masters the challenge brilliantly.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 1:1
Djokovic doesn't concede a point
Nole doesn't concede a point in his first service game in the second set. It's never been that easy today.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6, 0:1
Alcaraz leads in the 2nd set
The first game of the second set once again goes to deuce. The Spaniard holds and so we are still waiting for the first break.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 7:6
Djokovic wins the 1st set
At 3:3 in the tie-break, Djokovic takes the mini-break to 4:3 with a return to the line. The Serb then wins another three points to take the first set. 1 hour and 34 minutes have already been played. After winning the set, the Serb disappears briefly into the catacombs.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 6:6
Alcaraz fends off set point and saves himself in the tie-break
Djokovic has a set point, but Alcaraz keeps his cool in this situation too and hits a winner. He finally gets his service through and thus saves himself in the tie-break.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 6:5
Djokovic is at least in the tiebreak
Djokovic secures the game at 6:5 with a service winner and a lob ball that Alcaraz plays just outside the net. Will he get the break to win the set or will we see a tiebreak here shortly?
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 5:5
Alcaraz also shows no nerves
At 30:30, Djokovic gives his opponent a gift. Instead of set point, it's game point for Alcaraz. And the Spaniard uses it to equalize.
![Carlos Alcaraz is all there.]()
Carlos Alcaraz is all there. Imago -
Djokovic - Alcaraz 5:4
Djokovic fends off another five break points
The standard in this final is incredibly high. What the two offer the fans is great cinema. The Spaniard returns some of the craziest balls and earns five break points. The Serb fends them all off and takes a 5:4 lead after more than an hour.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 4:4
Alcaraz equalizes again
The Spaniard takes the game without conceding a point. You've never seen that before today.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 4:3
Djokovic extremely stable
After having to fend off three break points, he easily holds his service game to make it 4:3. Djokovic's daughter joins in the excitement in the crowd and creates a jubilant moment with her "Daddy is the best" sign.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 3:3
Alcaraz confidently gets his game through
For the first time in this final, Alcaraz shows no problems on his own serve and takes the game at lightning speed.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 3:2
Djokovic also fends off three break points
For the first time, Djokovic also comes under huge pressure on his own serve and has to fend off three break points. The match has now lasted 40 minutes, but only five games have been played. This could go on for quite a while.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 2:2
Alcaraz fends off three break points
Wow! Djokovic earns three break points with a perfect return. Alcaraz confidently fends off the first and also flexes his muscles on the second. After the Spaniard also fends off the third break point, Djokovic gesticulates wildly and is booed by some of the spectators. However, shouts of Nole can also be heard in the stadium. In the end, Alcaraz secures the game after a tough battle.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 2:1
Djokovic gets his service through
Djokovic distributes the balls, but Alcaraz returns everything and takes a 30:0 lead. The Serb stays cool and takes the game after four points in a row.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 1:1
Alcaraz fends off the first break point
The 37-year-old earns his first break point, but Alcaraz fends it off with a brilliant stop ball. In the end, the Spaniard saves a first break with great difficulty.
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Djokovic - Alcaraz 1:0
Djokovic takes the first game
Djokovic takes the first game with aplomb. He concedes two points on his own serve.
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Here we go ...
Djokovic opens the match on serve. Will he get his service through?
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Will Alcaraz strike again in Paris?
While Djokovic probably has the last chance to win Olympic gold in his fifth appearance, Carlos Alcaraz could strike in his first appearance. The 21-year-old Spaniard will certainly make life difficult for the Serb. The two faced each other in the Wimbledon final just three weeks ago, when the Spaniard made Djokovic look old and triumphed in three sets. Alcaraz has also won the French Open this year.
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Will Djokovic win Olympic gold for the first time?
Novak Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles in his career, more than any other player. At the Olympic Games, Djokovic has "only" won one bronze medal in four attempts, which was in Beijing in 2008. He has silver in Paris, but the Serb is aiming for gold.
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Dream final at 2.10 pm
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz meet in the final at the Olympic Games. It is an absolute dream final - and a historic one at that. Djokovic is the oldest finalist in history, Alcaraz the youngest.
