Setting goals is difficult for someone who has conquered everything the eye can see, but late in 2023, Novak Djokovic identified something that had eluded him. An Olympic gold medal was the most obvious gap on his resume, and his peers had all won theirs: Rafael Nadal won singles in 2008, Roger Federer won doubles in 2008, and Andy Murray won singles in 2012 and 2016.

Djokovic’s only Olympic medal was a bronze in singles in 2008. He wanted to fill that void in Paris, and by the end of last season it seemed possible enough. At 36, he had won three of the year’s four majors, despite being a decade older than his biggest threats. That confidence was justified. But as the 2024 season progressed, Djokovic’s vision of a gold medal became much harder to believe. Rather than a gradual rise in form to the Olympic summit, his year was a parade of oddities: a disorienting loss on the most successful court of his career, a frustrating defeat by an unproven youngster, the firing of a head coach who had led his team through six major years, major tournaments skipped for personal reasons, an accidental water bottle attack on the head, a meniscus tear followed by rapid rehabilitation, and a reluctant absence from the Wimbledon final. The season was dominated by younger rivals Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. In July, Djokovic admitted he was not up to their level. The last time he went this deep in a season was 2005.

Sinner was absent from the 64-man draw in Paris due to illness and Alcaraz was the clear favourite for gold. Djokovic steadily advanced through the draw without losing a set. He ended his 18-year battle with Nadal, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Lorenzo Musetti, two one-handed backhand youngsters he had traumatised on these clay courts in the past. Those victories gave him a medal to upgrade his previous bronze, but the decisive factor depended on how he performed in Sunday’s final against Alcaraz, who has won two major tournaments in a row, including this particular Roland-Garros clay court. Djokovic suddenly produced two of his best sets in nearly a year to beat his much younger opponent 7-6(3), 7-6(2).

From the opening games, it was clear that the 37-year-old was operating at a far superior physical level to that of his last encounter, when he limped out of the Wimbledon final in straight sets. Djokovic was worried about his ability to play in the quarter-finals last Thursday. Again, it was his knee. He felt pain in his right knee at the start of the second set against Tsitsipas, which he later described as a “deja vu” from when he tore his meniscus in June. He said the pain lasted for three or four games before subsiding after a dose of anti-inflammatory medication. He then looked relaxed in the semi-final against Musetti and when he faced Alcaraz, it was as if his meniscus had never been a problem. Alcaraz’s drop shot is an immediate and relentless test of his opponent’s mobility, and Djokovic responded.

Djokovic refused to let Alcaraz dictate the terms of the match. When the ball came off Alcaraz’s forehand, he threw himself into the net and volleyed magnificently. Djokovic built points with meticulous, insidiously aggressive tennis that challenged Alcaraz to break the mould, to break them with his own inventions. Alcaraz often seems to relish the process of invention, but for the 21-year-old, everything seemed pretty light-hearted for most of this match, save for the occasional finger pointed to the ear or a smile through clenched teeth. It’s hard to remember him barking at himself so much, or pretending to throw his racket, in the space of just two sets. Even the calming presence of his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was on holiday this week but returned to calm him down in the final, didn’t do much to calm him down. Alcaraz later said he felt a different kind of pressure to the one he had felt in the four major finals he had played (and won) in his young career. “You play four Grand Slams every year; the Olympics only happen every four years,” he said. Throughout the tournament he talked about how much he wanted to bring the gold medal to Spain and kissed the flag on his jersey after each win.

The first set lasted a ridiculous 94 minutes, and if Alcaraz came away with any particular regrets, most of them would have been rooted in the 4-5 game, when he had five chances to break serve – even a few makeable winners on the ropes – but in the end he just couldn’t find a way through. Neither player remained unbroken and instead clashed in the first-set tie-break, with Djokovic finding the slightest margin with a single audacious serve return. Tie-breaks are an exercise in risk management. Djokovic’s overall strategy tends to be somewhat conservative, relying on the foundation of his superior movement skills and high-margin attack. He doesn’t take too many risks on any one shot, instead stressing his opponents with consistent depth, gradually gaining advantages throughout the rally. But at 3-3 in the tie-break, he saw an opportunity too delicious to pass up.

Alcaraz hit a second serve to pin Djokovic. But it was off, and Djokovic’s forehand went into the strike zone. The question was what he wanted to do with it. Djokovic stepped in and punished it with a cross-court forehand winner neatly placed inside the service line. That was all he needed. He took the first set, left the court for a bathroom break, and Alcaraz sat there, his head in his hands, whimpering.

Neither side gave up any quality in the second set. There is no breathing room in the best-of-three format and this is the most meaningful match these two will play against each other in this format. There were some recoveries here that looked like corporal punishment, with Djokovic leaning over as if he had been punched in the kidney late in the second set and retreating towards a water bottle mid-game. If Alcaraz can keep the match that physical and carry it to a third set, his legs will outperform his sister.

But Djokovic knew it had to be two sets. He entered the second set with absolutely clear-minded serves, hitting all the points on his first serves and cashing in the free points that he has developed most in his late career. With both servers unbreakable again, they raced towards another tie-break. There was a ragged yearning in Djokovic’s body language and a brilliant refinement of actual technique. He hit two of the best individual shots of his season in the tie-break, both running forehands – his entire body weight going to his surgically repaired knee – both breathtakingly sharp, raw cross-court winners that Alcaraz could only follow with hopeless eyes. I was sure that if it came down to it, Djokovic would trade that knee for a gold medal. The flawless second-set tie-break was a fitting end to a victory that ranks among the most impressive and unexpected of his career.

Djokovic was on all fours after the win. Alcaraz tried to conduct on-court interviews through tears. The most successful man in men’s tennis history said the feeling of winning a gold medal was “better than anything I’ve ever felt on a tennis court.” He found some closure in Paris.

“This is probably one of the biggest internal battles I’ve ever had with myself,” Djokovic told NBC after the win. “I feel like I’m not doing enough, I’m not good enough in my life, on the court and off the court. So it’s a big lesson for me. I’m so grateful for the blessing of winning a historic gold medal for my country, completing the Golden Slam and breaking all the records.”

It was a rare disappointment for Alcaraz in the summer of high spirits. His tennis is typified by his ability to make things even harder in the most stressful situations, and he didn’t quite reach those heights in this match. “I was a little bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to play my best tennis in difficult situations, in some cases,” he told the press afterwards. “For example, in the tie-breaks, he raised his level at the top and I didn’t deliver, so I’m probably a little bit sad when I think back to those moments.”

Attention to detail is the difference between winning and losing a match of this calibre: a putaway volley here, a cross-court forehand there. Despite improving greatly in recent weeks, Alcaraz has played some patchy matches – take his last two rounds at Roland-Garros – that have shown he can be out of touch with his best tennis for long periods. But once he is back at that top level, he is usually untouchable and can recover in time to secure a win. But not against a Djokovic who has been through hell. “I had a really angry Novak in front of me,” Alcaraz said. “He was an impressive player today.” One of the few players alive who could make the Spanish phenom pay for any sloppiness is now a 37-year-old with nothing left to prove.