Paris, August 3
Serbia's tennis legend, Novak Djokovic, entered his first Olympic final after staging a victory over Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals of the men's singles event.
In what turns out to be a repeat of the Wimbledon 2024 final, Djokovic has set a blockbuster gold medal match against Spain's tennis prince, Carlos Alcaraz.
At the age of 37, Djokovic will be the oldest player to feature in the gold medal match since 1988. Even before playing his final, Djokovic is guaranteed to walk away with a silver medal, which will be an improvement of the bronze he bagged at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Djokovic stormed into the final with a 6-4, 6-2 victory in straight sets over the Italian tennis sensation.
Despite raising concerns over his right knee, Djokovic showed no signs of discomfort and breezed past Musett in the semi-finals.
Djokovic faced fierce competition in the first set. But he upped the ante in the second set to stand just a step away from his first Olympic gold medal.
"I have been waiting for this for almost 20 years. I've played four Olympic games. This is my fifth, and I've never passed the semi-finals. I lost three semi-finals in my first four Olympic games. I managed to overcome this big hurdle. I must be honest and say that I was thinking about all the semi-finals that I lost," Djokovic said in his on-court interview, as quoted from ATP.
The second set was a topsy-turvy affair for Djokovic. The Serbian was left frustrated and visibly animated following the errors he made. With the second set level at 2-2, Djokovic won four consecutive games to proceed to the finals.
"Second set, I started, I was very, very nervous just overall. Before the match, during the match, just so, so nervous. But so glad to overcome this hurdle and secure a medal for my country," Djokovic added.
Alcaraz was earlier in action and stormed into the final without breaking a sweat. He defeated Canadia's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1 to set up the blockbuster clash.