I borrow a famous phrase from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that celebrated the Sistine Chapel, but which perfectly fits the essence of this article: “Without having seen what Novak Djokovic did in Paris it is not possible to form an appreciable idea of what a single man is capable of achieving.”
And without analyzing what Djokovic did at the Paris Olympics 2024 he would really be able to understand what a single man is capable of achieving. When everyone seems to have given him up for dead, he manages to amaze again, achieving that result he has been pursuing for a lifetime. Even the sky of Paris opened up on the day of his success, after the first few days of rain at the Olympics, almost to underline the sacredness of the event. The Serbian tennis player won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, the last great result that was missing. In this way Nole has literally won everything possible and imaginable on a tennis court.
Sometimes those who criticize Djokovic find every means to denigrate his legend, some even in the past have managed to claim that Nole won Slams only thanks to lucky draws or episodic situations, but the reality is very different; Nole has won so much because he deserved to do so.
And this is confirmed by a new – yet another – impressive statistic achieved by the Serbian tennis player. A statistic that has come back into fashion after the victory against Alcaraz. By winning against the young Spaniard at the Paris Olympics, Nole leads the head-to-head against Alcaraz 4-3. But not only that: Djokovic is ahead in head-to-heads with all the other tennis players in the Top 15! He is 4-3 against both the world number 1 Jannik Sinner and against Carlos Alcaraz. There are clear dominances like the 9-0 in the previous matches against Taylor Fritz or the 12-1 and 12 -2 respectively against Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas. In short, an unchallenged dominance, still, at 37 years old.
The Serbian champion has rewritten the history of tennis. Once again. 24 Grand Slam titles, a series of infinite titles between ATP Finals and Masters 1000, the Davis Cup and now also the gold medal at the Olympics. He has chased this result throughout his career and now, at his last real opportunity, Djokovic has managed to win, giving the most coveted medal to his beloved Serbia. In the press conference the tennis player has released interesting statements, which also involve the future.
I prepared myself to offer my best version between Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Olympics. Then the injury upset all my plans but playing the final in London made me understand that I had recovered my level and that I could play my chances. I didn’t care about the way Carlos beat me in London, here I knew I could offer a different performance. There is no greater motivation than fighting for your country, after winning the first two matches I started to believe in it and I knew I could do it. Winning in the semi-final took a weight off me, I had the medal but I wanted the gold. Alcaraz is the best in the world at the moment, a good person with magnificent values and I am convinced that he will win the Olympic Gold in the future, I played raising my level and finally I succeeded. I couldn’t be happier, the feeling I had when I won is different from any other victory I have had in my career,” he said.
Djokovic has rewritten history and once again highlighted his love for his beloved Serbia and wearing the jersey of his nation he has now won both the Davis Cup and the Olympic Games.
As I said, a victory, the one in the final over Carlos Alcaraz, which allowed the Serbian tennis player to conquer the only success that until this point in his career had always eluded him. Marian Vajda, former coach of the Serbian champion, wrote a social post on his Instagram profile that was decidedly moving and heartfelt, published with a photo of Novak Djokovic with the gold medal around his neck:
“Nole, the mission is complete. After so many years of sailing you reach the shore. The prolonged effort has brought an Olympic gold medal around your neck. An extraordinary achievement, I am so proud of you. I burst into tears when you hit the last spectacular winning shot in the final. Congratulations also to your family and to all the members of your team!”
