Aug 23, 2024 09:29 AM IST
Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the Paris Olympics 2024 men’s singles final.
Ahead of the highly-anticipated US Open 2024, Carlos Alcaraz, Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic and John McEnroe set the Arthur Ashe crowd alight in an exhibition match, on Wednesday at Flushing Meadows. Alcaraz and Agassi partnered and lost to Djokovic, McEnroe. The Serbian and American duo won 10-8 at the Fan Week exhibition.
Djokovic was congratulated by McEnroe for his Paris Olympics gold medal, where he beat Matthew Ebden, Rafael Nadal, Dominik Koepfer, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Lorenzo Musetti to reach the final, where he beat Alcaraz 7-6(3) 7-6(2).
Reacting to his historic Olympic gold, Djokovic said in front of a packed Arthur Ashe crowd, “Yes, I mean I have been waiting for that moment for basically my whole career. It’s been an incredible journey, obviously, trials and tribulations and failing and hoping that one day I will make it.”
Praising Alcaraz, he said, “I told Carlos at the net when we finished the finals that I was very grateful to him for letting me win the gold. He’s probably going to have like three golds before he retires. So that was nice and obviously Andre who’s won a gold and won a Golden Slam and everything, he has done for the sport. John, this evening is so surreal honestly. I mean, so many of you came out tonight to support tennis, to support all of the players. It’s incredible, honestly thank you. It’s been a great pleasure to be part of this. Everytime, I step out on this court, I feel special but even more because I got to share it with legends of the game.”
Other than his gold in Paris, Djokovic also has a bronze from Beijing 2008. Djokovic has won a record 24 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, including a record ten Australian Open titles. He is the only man in tennis history to be the defending champion of all four majors at once across three different surfaces.
