The Serbian tennis player is a 24-time winner of Grand Slam tournaments, but until yesterday he had never won an Olympic gold medal.
On 4 August, he beat 21-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, a star of modern tennis, 7:6 (7:3), 7:6 (7:2) in the final singles match of the Games. The meeting was difficult and long – 2 hours and 52 minutes, Novak fought hard. It was the first time he played in the final match of the Olympics – before that he only took bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, finished third at the London 2012 Games, and lost in the third place match at Tokyo 2020.
After winning the final of the current Olympics, Djokovic cried, kneeling right on the court. He has dreamed of this gold medal all his life! And he deserved it more than anyone. A few minutes later, taking the Serbian flag in his hands, he walked with it through the stands to his family. He hugged his wife and sobbed in the arms of his daughter.
Recall, two months ago, the tennis player almost ended his career, having suffered a serious knee injury. He tore his meniscus at Roland Garros and underwent serious surgery on the eve of the Olympics. In the quarter-finals of the Games, he even had to call a physiotherapist to the court to examine his injured leg because of severe pain. Novak was afraid that he would not be able to finish the remaining matches – doctors forbade him to go on court.
“Honestly, I’m very worried. I don’t know what to say. The pain was really bad for two games after it happened. I don’t know if I slipped or something else happened,” he told reporters at the time.
Now the Serbian tennis player will be able to properly rest and recover his injured leg. Novak promised that he would take care of his health.
