An inconsolable Carlos Alcaraz had to pause his post-match interview with Eurosport after losing to Novak Djokovic in a titanic men’s singles final at the Paris Olympics.
Alcaraz took Djokovic to a tie break in both sets at Roland-Garros but lost 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2), meaning the 21-year-old Spaniard had to settle for the silver medal.
Djokovic, 37, was overcome with emotion as he finally got his hands on gold, the one major title missing from his extraordinary roll of honour. The Serbian’s only previous Olympics medal came way back in 2008, when he clinched bronze in Beijing.
At the Tokyo Games three years ago, Djokovic lost to Alcaraz’s fellow countryman Pablo Carreno Busta in the bronze medal match. He also missed out on bronze at London 2012.
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But the seven-time Wimbledon champion drew upon all of his experience and nous to get the better of his younger opponent, 16 years his junior, in the French capital – and the emotion poured out as he sealed the win.
Shortly before collecting his gold medal on the podium, Djokovic shared a touching moment with his daughter, Tara, as he joined his loved ones in the crowd inside Court Philippe Chatrier.
During the phenomenal battle, which lasted nearly three hours, Tara held aloft a sign which read, ‘Dad is the best’.
Alcaraz, who overcame Djokovic in the Wimbledon final earlier this summer, broke down in tears several times and even had to pause his interview with Eurosport just moments after the defeat.
After he was able to compose himself, a teary Alcaraz said: ‘Three hours of phenomenal fight. It was a big battle. It’s never easy.
‘There were tough moments for me in the tie break. I just couldn’t get my level up. It’s very painful to lose today.’
A near-speechless Djokovic said he was still in a state of ‘shock’ after ending his Olympic hoodoo at long last.
‘It was an incredible battle, incredible fight. Honestly, when the last shot went through him, past him, that was the only moment I actually thought I could win the match,’ Djokovic said after shortly after his victory.
‘I believed I could win but to actually win it… he [Alcaraz] keeps on coming back, he keeps on asking me to play my best tennis.
‘I thought I started the first set well, I had chances, he had chances as well. It was probably fair to finish both sets with a tie break, to be honest.
‘We both had our chances to break but when it mattered we both came out with big serves, some big plays. I don’t know what to say, I’m still in shock.’
Asked why the win was so special to him, Djokovic replied: ‘It’s everything but most of all it’s my country.
‘Most of all it’s the pride to play for Serbia. Carlos, Rafa [Nadal], they love to play for Spain. Andy [Murray] loves to play for Great Britain, Roger [Federer] for Switzerland, Alex Zverev won in Tokyo for Germany.
‘You saw the reactions of all of these guys when they win. It’s something special, honestly.
‘This is my fifth Olympic Games and three out of four Olympic Games I played semi-finals and never managed to overcome that hurdle for some reason.’
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