When Novak Djokovic appeared in the Olympic tennis final for the first time, assured of a chance to win the gold medal missing from his long list of achievements, he fell on his back on the clay court with his legs spread, one of the poses usually reserved for the champion.
“This is a big deal,” he said after taking the last four games to beat Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-2.
Djokovic, who has 24 Grand Slam men’s titles and has spent more weeks at number one in the rankings than any other tennis player in history, will face Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles final on Sunday and try to add to his legacy, according to the Associated Press.
Alcaraz put in an even more dominant performance in the semifinals on Friday, knocking out Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1.
Djokovic is 37, making him the oldest man to play in a Summer Games tennis final. Alcaraz is 21, making him the youngest.
“He’s definitely the favourite with his style of play,” said Djokovic, who came into the Olympic semifinals on Friday with a 0-3 record.
Djokovic’s best medal for Serbia to date was bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. Now he will do no worse than silver.
“To win a higher medal for my country for the first time, no matter what happens on Sunday, it’s huge, obviously pride, honor and happiness — and that’s why I celebrated in this way,” he said. “I still have to celebrate, because it’s a big achievement, for sure.”
Was Musetti surprised by Djokovic’s reaction?
“I know how important it is for ‘Nole’ to win a gold medal, to win a medal, of course,” Musetti replied, using Djokovic’s nickname. “So, no, absolutely not.”
The final will be a rematch of the last two Wimbledon finals, which Alcaraz won three weeks ago.
“It’s always really tough to face Novak in any round,” Alcaraz said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the first round or the final.”
The Spaniard has four Grand Slam titles, including one in June at the French Open, a clay-court tournament held at Roland Garros, where Olympic tennis is played this year.
Djokovic was injured at the French Open, tearing the meniscus in his right knee and underwent surgery on June 5. He said he felt a “sharp pain” when he overtook Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals on Thursday night, but he looked good against Musetti after working hard with his physiotherapist to prepare and said he is fine.
“It didn’t bother me at all, so I’m really glad it wasn’t anything serious,” Djokovic said on Friday.
He acknowledged feeling frustrated and it appeared so, irritated by things like the wind, the foot or chair umpire calling him twice for time violations and then warning him for an audible expletive. Djokovic repeatedly gestured, muttered or even shouted at his team in the stands.
But apart from a break at the start of the second set, his tennis was good. However, he recovered quickly.
“He deserved to win,” said Musetti, who lost to Djokovic at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2024.
Earlier, Alcaraz was magnificent against Auger-Aliassime, with dozens of spectators waving red-and-yellow Spanish flags on Court Philippe Chatrier or shouting “Vamos, Carlos!” on a cloudy afternoon, and a band in the stands playing background music during lulls in the action.
He never faced a break point. He won the point on 10 of 11 trips to the net. He made just 13 unforced errors, 10 fewer than Auger-Aliassime, who lost to Alcaraz at this year’s French Open.
“I couldn’t find a way to be comfortable in any pattern, in any position. Whether it was trying to dominate the forehand crosscourt, or changing direction, forehand inside out, backhand side,” Auger-Aliassime said. “From every angle. Movement. Defense. I was under pressure.”
Auger-Aliassime returned to the court later Friday, teaming with Gabriela Dabrowski to help Canada win the mixed doubles bronze with a 6-3, 7-6(2) win over Demi Schuurs and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands. Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic won the gold medal by defeating Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen of China, 6-2, 5-7(8).