As expected, the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics Men’s Tennis ended in a promising showdown that featured two of the best players in today’s game. Novak Djokovic emerged at the top of the world after he survived a massive clash against Carlos Alcaraz in a 7-6(3), 7-6(2) on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Djokovic has been quiet for most of the 2024 ATP Tour, not winning a single tournament since January until the Olympics, which was very timely considering how well he came out on top in the Paris Games. At long last, at the age of 37, Novak Djokovic is finally an Olympic Gold medalist, adding it to his long list of legendary feats in the tennis world.

Speaking of legendary feats, Djokovic’s victory was nothing short of impressive. He had to stave off a promising player in Alcaraz – who has made some impressive strides in the game and has even managed to come up with multiple wins on clay, including this year’s edition of the French Open. That says a lot about Djokovic’s return to dominance in the tennis stage, and it is even easy to say that this might even help him spark a late campaign in the ATP Tour.

Extending his Big Titles Lead

With his first Olympic Singles win, Novak Djokovic further extends his massive lead in the tennis records with his completion of the Career Golden Slam, winning every big title that the competition has to offer so far. The Serbian star now has a total of 72 big titles in his career, which is composed of impressive Grand Slam wins, trophies at the ATP Finals, Masters 1000 victories, and an Olympic gold medal.

In 16 of the last 18 seasons, Djokovic has at least claimed one big title, showing how well he can muster his dominance in the game at this point. His co-players in the Tennis Big 3 have impressive records as well, but Djokovic is now ahead by at least 10 more awards. Roger Federer, who is already retired, has a total of 54 big titles and no wins at the Olympics. Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, has 57 with one Olympic gold to his name.

It has been a long time since Djokovic has aspired to reach a gold medal finish in the game. He won the bronze medal back in Beijing, while he finished fourth in London and in Tokyo.

A Silver Lining in Defeat

Despite the loss, Carlos Alcaraz was pleased with his campaign in the 2024 Paris Olympics. As the champion of the recent French Open, it cannot be denied that he was a massive favorite to win in the Olympics as well, which held the tennis games in the same venue as the French Open.

"I always want to win, that’s for sure, but taking the silver medal, I have to be really proud,” said Alcaraz about his loss to Djokovic in the final of the Paris Olympics. “I’m building a really great career and I hope it’s going to keep going. Honestly, I’m pretty proud to be in this position, I’m pretty proud to bring a medal to Spain. I’m pretty sure that my moment will come, and I will bring the gold medal to Spain one day.”

That loss was a rare low in an otherwise promising 2024 run for Alcaraz. He is currently sitting at world no. 3 after lifting his third and fourth major titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this season, which says a lot about how the Spaniard is still expected to make waves in the game.