Novak Djokovic was left in floods of tears as he was overwhelmed following his Olympic gold medal victory over Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Games.
The Serbian was competing at his fifth Olympics and hoped to end his wait for a top honour having never even reached the final in previous editions of the legendary competition.
A final showdown against Alcaraz – who has beaten Djokovic at the past two Wimbledon finals – saw the senior Grand Slam champion win 7-6 7-6 at Roland Garros.
Djokovic was unable to contain his emotions in wild post-match celebrations and sobbed uncontrollably as he collapsed on the pitch once his stunning end-to-end win was confirmed.
The 37-year-old could make this his final appearance at an Olympic Games and further cried when hugging his young daughter and other family members in the stands during the celebrations.
- Novak Djokovic was left in floods of tears as he was overwhelmed following his Olympic gold
Djokovic sobbed uncontrollably as the realisation of his gold medal win sunk in on Sunday
The Serbian was overcome with emotion as he embraced his family in the stands
Djokovic later described his success in Paris as ‘completing the Golden Slam’ when explaining his understandable emotions in the aftermath of his incredible win over Alcaraz.
‘Yes it is. It is [the missing piece in the puzzle]. I mean, I’m telling myself always, that I’m enough,’ he told NBC.
‘Because I can be very self-critical, and that’s probably one of my biggest battles, internal battles, that I keep on fighting with myself, that I don’t feel like I’ve done enough, I haven’t been enough in my life, on the court and off the court.
‘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,’ he added.
Also telling Eurosport, he said: ‘It was an incredible fight and I had to play my best tennis.
‘I put my heart, my soul, everything to win gold. I did it for my country first – for Serbia.’
Sunday was Djokovic’s best – and arguably most important – performance of the year as he became only the fifth tennis player to ever complete the ‘Golden Slam’ consisting of every major individual honour and an Olympic gold.
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Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz struggled to hold back the tears as he was beaten by Djokovic
He joins the esteemed company of Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in doing so and cut an unusually emotional figure as the realisation of his achievement sank in.
Maintaining composure to show his respect to Alcaraz after winning the match, Djokovic stood with his arms outstretched, crying on the clay before being presented with a Serbian flag that he carried into the crowd.
It was there where he met with friends, family and coaching staff who have supported the tennis legend throughout his career and run to becoming an Olympic gold medal winner.
Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti posed with both Djokovic and Alcaraz on the podium as he was crowned men’s singles bronze medallist.
