Djokovic clinches thrilling opening set against Alcaraz in Paris Olympic final

Novak Djokovic is one set away from his first Olympic gold medal after overcoming Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3) in a pulsating first set on Sunday afternoon in Paris.

Both Djokovic and his great rival Alcaraz showcased remarkable resilience under pressure as a set featuring 13 break points (Djokovic 5, Alcaraz 8) somehow reached a tie-break without a break of serve. The highlights included Alcaraz rallying from 0/40 to hold in the fourth game, while Djokovic pulled through a see-saw ninth game, packed with scintillating tennis from both players, having faced five break points.

Djokovic’s final break point of the set doubled as a set point at 6-5, 30/40. Although he could not convert, the Serbian retained his composure to reel off four straight points from 3/3 in the tie-break and move ahead after a brutal 94 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

NOVAK IS ONE SET AWAY FROM OLYMPIC GOLD ?@DjokerNole | #Olympics | #Paris2024 | #tennis pic.twitter.com/GNciD17FHY

Djokovic is competing in his first Olympic gold-medal match just eight and a half weeks after undergoing meniscus surgery on his right leg. He fell to Alcaraz in the final at Wimbledon in his only other tournament since the operation, but is now on the brink of becoming just the fifth player — after Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams — to complete the ‘Golden Slam’ of winning all four major titles and an Olympic gold medal in singles.

Alcaraz is aiming to add an Olympic title to his already-stellar summer, during which he won his third and fourth Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, respectively. The 21-year-old Spaniard is the youngest man to contest a singles gold-medal match since the Olympic Tennis Event returned in 1988, while Djokovic is the oldest.

Sunday’s encounter is the second on Court Philippe-Chatrier between the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings Djokovic and No. 3 Alcaraz after Djokovic triumphed in the 2022 Roland Garros semi-finals. The pair’s overall Lexus ATP Head2Head series stands at 3-3.

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