Novak Djokovic's persistent search for that elusive Olympic gold finally came to an end with the Paris Olympics final win over Spain's Carlos Alcaraz. This victory saw him achieve a 'Golden Slam' through his illustrious career. The Serbian icon, already credited with record 24 Grand Slam titles against his name, clinched the victory in straight sets of 7-6, 7-6.
The result will further cement Djokovic's place in tennis lore as only the fifth to accomplish a 'Golden Slam': He now holds all four Grand Slam titles and also the Olympic gold. This impressive list will include Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, and Steffi Graf.
Among the feats in Djokovic's quest to achieve all this was a bronze medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, finishing fourth in London in 2012, and an early exit in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The most recent attempt in Tokyo narrowly eluded him as he lost in the bronze-medal match.
He played a fine game against Alcaraz, the reigning champion of the French Open and Wimbledon. He stretched him to the full in a match where he had to fight off eight breakpoints in the opening set. With admirable calmness and nerve, Djokovic fended off every breakpoint before capitalizing on mistakes by his opponent in both tie-breaks. This clinical display during the tie-breaks underlined the experience and mental fortitude that have proved to be critical in this tightly contested match.
In contrast, Djokovic had lost a five-set thriller versus Alcaraz in the final of Wimbledon 6-1, 6-7, 1-6, 6-3, 4-6.
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