Paris Olympics: Novak Djokovic fills the only gap on his resume: Olympic gold

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PARIS — The most anticipated gold medal match in Olympic tennis history — and one of the most sought-after tickets in Paris — delivered on its promise with a wildly entertaining three-set match and a legendary champion.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) in a thrilling match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday to win his first gold medal and become the oldest Olympic men’s singles champion at the age of 37.

Djokovic is coming off minor meniscus surgery, but you wouldn’t have expected that after watching the first set, which was an epic back-and-forth. He saved eight break points against the 21-year-old Alcaraz, who beat him in the Wimbledon final three weeks ago.

The second set was equally exciting, with the crowd chanting alternately “Novak! Novak!” and “Carlos! Carlos!” as the two men traded points.

With a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 98 career titles and a record 428 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings, Djokovic has risen to the mountaintop of men’s tennis. The Olympics were the only real gap on his resume. He won bronze in 2008 (Beijing) before missing the podium three times in a row, finishing fourth in 2012 (London) and 2021 (Tokyo) and suffering a shock first-round exit in 2016 (Rio).

This victory — over the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion, no less — undoubtedly cements his position as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) over Roger Federer, who has never won Olympic gold in singles, and Rafael Nadal, who won in 2008. Nadal, who lost to Djokovic last week, can no longer carry his gold medal with him.

In tennis circles, winning a gold medal doesn’t carry as much weight as winning a Grand Slam, partly because of the sport’s 64-year absence from the Games (1924-1988) and the best-of-three-sets format. But perhaps Djokovic’s title is viewed differently, given that he won at a Grand Slam venue against a four-time Grand Slam champion.

Then again, maybe not: he didn’t play a single top-10 player en route to the gold medal battle (No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas was his highest-ranked opponent) and the men’s field, while relatively strong, wasn’t filled with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who withdrew with tonsillitis.

Alcaraz, the youngest man ever to play in a men’s singles final, now adds Olympic silver to his four major titles — all before his 22nd birthday. Although he failed to win in Paris, it was a tournament he will never forget: facing Djokovic in the final and playing alongside Nadal in what were perhaps his idol’s last matches at Roland-Garros.

Sunday’s victory takes Djokovic to 4-3 against the young Spaniard, who is undoubtedly the face of the future of the sport and probably would have been had the legendary Serb not wanted to leave.