Year-ender: Novak Djokovic attained these feats with historic Olympic gold
What's the story
Serbian ace Novak Djokovic finally ended his wait for an elusive Olympic gold medal in August this year. Djokovic reigned supreme after beating Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in the tennis men's singles final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Serb, who won 7-6(3), 7-6(2), became only the fifth player to complete the Golden Slam (winning all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold).
Medals
Second medal; oldest Olympic gold medalist
Djokovic has won his maiden gold medal at the Olympics. It was his second Olympic medal overall (bronze in 2008 Beijing Olympics). At 37 years and 74 days, Djokovic also became the oldest player (man or woman) to claim the singles gold medal at the Olympic Games since the sport's reinstatement as an Olympic event in 1988.
Golden Slam
Fifth player with Golden Slam
Djokovic became just the fifth player (man or woman) to win all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold. He joined Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams on this elite list. Djokovic, the 24-time major champion, has a record 10 Australian Open honors to his name. He also owns seven Wimbledon, four US Open, and three French Open titles.
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Second player with this triple
As per Opta, Djokovic became only the second player in the Open Era to have won all four Grand Slams, the Olympic gold medal, and the ATP Tour Finals. He joins legend Agassi for this record.
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Djokovic joins Federer, Williams
According to Opta, Djokovic became the third player to reach the singles final at the Olympics after turning 30 since tennis returned to the Summer Olympic program in 1988. Roger Federer (London 2012) and Serena Williams (London 2012) are the others.
Feats
Other notable feats for Djokovic
Djokovic extended his tally of 'Big Titles' to 72, the most for a player. Big Titles are a combination of Grand Slams, ATP Finals title, ATP Masters 1000 titles, and the Olympic singles gold medals. The Serb has won every 'Big Title' one can claim. In Paris, Djokovic played his fourth singles semi-finals at the Olympics, the most for a player.