"Too proud, too happy" - Novak Djokovic at peace after winning elusive Olympic gold, admits he can finally feel complete after Paris 2024 glory
Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to win the gold medal in the men's singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Serb felt 'too proud' and 'too happy' after earning the achievement that has eluded him for years.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz faced each other for the seventh time on tour when they clashed at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in the gold medal match at the ongoing Olympics. The last two times they faced in a final was at Wimbledon and the Spaniard had come out on top on both occasions.
The tables turned in Paris as Djokovic crushed Alcaraz's hope for gold with two clinical tiebreaker performances. Both competitors had multiple break points but they failed to convert. The 37-year-old employed his expertise to navigate through both the tiebreakers in two sets to win the match 7-6, 7-6.
Djokovic, who won the gold medal without losing a set, opened up about how the triumph felt during an on-court interview.
"I’m overwhelmed with everything I’m feeling right now. Feeling different emotions. Too proud. Too happy. Thrilled with the possibility to win a gold for the first time in my career for my country," the 24-time Grand Slam winner said.
He said it is 'arguably the biggest success' he has achieved and claimed he has now 'probably' won everything in his individual career.
When asked if the Olympic gold was the 'missing puzzle' in his career, Djokovic replied in the affirmative. He revealed that he is sometimes 'self-critical'.
"Because I can be very self critical. I don’t know. That’s one of the biggest internal battles I keep on fighting with myself. That I feel like I haven’t done enough or been enough in my life on and off the court."
He admitted that he finally felt he had done 'enough' and was grateful to complete all the records.
"So it’s a big lesson for me. I’m super grateful for the blessing to win a historic gold medal for my country. To complete the golden slam. To complete all the records.”
"It’s something special" - Novak Djokovic on representing Serbia and winning an Olympic gold medal for his country
Novak Djokovic loves to represent Serbia and claims it is a special feeling to win Olympic gold for his country. He mentioned Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal's love of representing Spain and the Tokyo 2020 gold medal winner Alexander Zverev's celebration.
“Everything [about this is special], but most of all it is my country. It’s my pride to play for Serbia," Novak Djokovic said after the match.
"I know Carlos and Rafa [Nadal], they love to play for Spain. Andy [Murray] loved to play for Great Britain. Roger [Federer] for Switzerland. Alex Zverev won in Tokyo for Germany. You saw the reactions of all these guys when they win. It’s something special,” he added.
Djokovic is the fifth player in tennis history to win the Golden Slam (winning all four Major and Olympic gold). The four players to complete a Golden Slam before the Serb are Steffi Graf (1988), Andre Agassi (1999), Rafael Nadal (2010), and Serena Williams (2012).