{"id":71452,"date":"2024-08-05T05:30:52","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T09:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=71452"},"modified":"2024-08-04T21:51:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T01:51:48","slug":"tribute-djokovic-fulfills-olympic-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2024\/08\/05\/tribute-djokovic-fulfills-olympic-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis Greats Pay Tribute To Novak Djokovic As He Fulfills Olympic Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic began the year as the player with the most Grand Slams, most weeks at No. 1, and most Masters 1000s. But the one title missing<\/a> from his massive trophy cabinet was an Olympic Gold Medal.<\/p>\n

In the toughest season of his career, Djokovic delivered the story of the season in remarkable fashion. Reaching the Olympic singles final guaranteed Serbia its best-ever podium finish in tennis, and he scooped his first Gold Medal on his fifth participation.<\/p>\n

Djokovic\u2019s thrilling and memorable 7-6 7-6 win<\/a> over the indefatigable Carlos Alcaraz is already lauded as the match of the year. From a spectacle standpoint, it was a match that set pulses racing. It was nerve-shredding drama until the final point. Even the top seed did not imagine he had the match won at 6-3 in the second set tie-break with multiple match points.<\/p>\n

Reaction to Djokovic\u2019s win almost instantly hit the internet, as players (active and retired) and prominent journalists weighed in to congratulate him on putting a capstone to his glittering career.<\/p>\n

Players And Pundits React To Djokovic’s Historic Olympic Gold Medal Win<\/h3>\n

Rafael Nadal cheered for countryman Alcaraz to bring home the Gold Medal but showered his old rival with praise after he became the sixth tennis player to win a “Golden Slam.” The 22-time Grand Slam champion posted on his Instagram<\/a> stories, “Congrats, Novak, on completing the Golden Slam and being able to achieve what you wanted. Well done.”<\/p>\n

Djokovic’s former coach, Boris Becker, was among the first to congratulate him on X (formerly Twitter). The 56-year-old wrote<\/a>, “Very emotional scenes from Nole! Celebrating with his family and team this astonishing win <\/span> at 37 \u2026 Idemooo <\/span>@Serbia <\/span>@Olympics.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick wrote on X<\/a>, “The willpower. Cant explain the effort I just witnessed from Nole. GOAT. To get one last chance, tell everyone what your priority is, and the deliver against the current best. Emotional stuff. Lucky to see it. Props.”<\/p>\n

Former World No. 4 Greg Rusedski opined that Djokovic has now settled the GOAT debate after winning the last big title on offer: “Novak Djokovic has now won everything there is to win in tennis. The debate is over now about who the GOAT is!”<\/p>\n

Mardy Fish also concurred that Djokovic has won whatever there is to win in tennis, writing, “The Only thing missing in Novak\u2019s trophy case is Gold\u2026That\u2019s it for me\u2026 Novak Djokovic, the undisputed GOAT of the tennis court.”<\/p>\n

Veteran journalist Jon Wertheim believes Djokovic’s ability to elevate his game borders on “supernatural” and “extraordinary” and that only NBA legend Michael Jordan comes close. He wrote, “Djokovic’s ability to elevate his play for the biggest occasions verges on the supernatural…Maybe Jordan going 6-0 in NBA Finals comes close, but this is just extraordinary…<\/span>#Paris2024″<\/span><\/p>\n

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Djokovic's ability to elevate his play for the biggest occasions verges on the supernatural…Maybe Jordan going 6-0 in NBA Finals comes close, but this is just extraordinary… #Paris2024<\/a><\/p>\n

— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) August 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n