Paris, August 05, 2024
As Novak Djokovic clinched the Olympic singles gold medal with a victory over Carlos Alcaraz, the rest of the ATP Tour’s top players were in awe of the Serbian’s historic achievement.
Holger Rune, who was among the players watching the match in the players’ lounge in Montreal, expressed his admiration for Djokovic’s accomplishment. “I think if there’s one person that deserves it so much, it’s Novak. He’s completed tennis in a way,” Rune told ATPTour.com. “He’s taking tennis to another level. He’s just the greatest. I take massive inspiration from him and I think he’s a very nice guy as well.”
The 37-year-old Djokovic’s victory marked the final piece in his collection of “Big Titles,” having won all four Grand Slam tournaments, all nine ATP Masters 1000 events, the Nitto ATP Finals, and now the Olympic singles gold medal. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost to Djokovic in a tight match during the Olympics, acknowledged the Serbian’s strong desire to claim the elusive gold medal.
“He visualised getting a gold medal,” Tsitsipas said. “I’m sure he’s someone that has been putting a lot of effort into making that happen. It is probably one of the things that he was missing as World No. 1 and a multiple Grand Slam champion, the gold medal. It was something that was not part of his collection.”
Pablo Carreno Busta, who had previously defeated Djokovic at the Tokyo Olympics, praised the quality of the gold-medal match between Djokovic and Alcaraz. “I think that they played unbelievable tennis,” Carreno Busta said. “It’s true that Carlos probably at the beginning was a little bit nervous, but that’s normal. For Novak also, it probably was his last chance to [win] the gold medal. I think it was a big spectacle for tennis.”
Gael Monfils, who has faced Djokovic 19 times in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, was equally thrilled to see the Serbian legend achieve this remarkable milestone. “He completed so much before. Novak is a legend in our sport,” Monfils said. “He is just completely special. He is completely different, completely special and for him I think it’s the biggest accomplishment possible so I’m just super happy for him.”
The ATP Tour players’ reactions underscored Djokovic’s unparalleled legacy and his status as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, having now completed the coveted “Golden Slam” of all major titles and the Olympic gold medal.