OLYMPIC GAMES
Djokovic wins gold medal in Paris: who else has won the Golden Slam?
Four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold... only four other players have achieved the feat. He also won the Davis Cup and Masters. “I put my soul, my body, my family into it…”
Novak Djokovic has now done it all. He’s won the lot. This afternoon in Paris, a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Whenever he feels the time is right, he can say goodbye to tennis without feeling frustrated at not having won an Olympic gold.
Today’s final against Carlos Alcaraz was his last chance, because it’s unlikely we will see him at Los Angeles 2028, when he will be 41 years old. He holds the record for the most Grand Slams (24), a Davis Cup, seven times Master... But one title always eluded him - one that both of his greatest rivals, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer had achieved - an Olympic gold medal.
Novak felt that he owed it to Serbia to win it and he finally did so today in Paris. After being Alcaraz in straight sets he coveted ‘Golden Slam’ is his.
Djokovic in tears on realizing Olympic dream
“Three hours and two sets... it was an incredible fight,” an emotional Djokovic said afterwards. “When the last point went in, it was the only moment I saw that I had won the match. I played my best tennis. I am in shock. I put my soul, my body, my family into winning Olympic gold and I finally did it.”
The 37-year-old broke down at the end of the match, sobbing. “Above all, this is for my country. I played for Serbia. And this is very special. It was my fifth Games and my fourth semi-final. This time I couldn’t fail and I had to secure the medal”.
The Serbian word inat (pronounced eenat), which Djokovic says has no translation, sums up his personality to a T. A word that brings together attributes such as perseverance, courage, will, resistance in the face of an opposing force. The homeland is something sacred for a Serbian. And sport is a way of making the homeland great - something which Djokovic takes very seriously.
He was in Belgrade in 1987 and grew up marked by the Balkan War and the disintegration of Yugoslavia. He even trained in an empty swimming pool, playing against the wall, while NATO bombed his city in 1999.
Djokovic’s near misses at the Olympics
Tennis is an individual, commercialized sport, where only the country plays in the Davis Cup and the Olympics. Djokovic led Serbia to win the Salad Bowl in 2010. But his four Olympic appearances (2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021) had resulted in a bronze, two fourth places and a first-round exit.
In his debut, in Beijing 2008, the Serbian managed to climb onto the podium by winning the bronze after beating Team USA’s James Blake 6-3 7-6. In the semi-finals, Nadal, the eventual Olympic champion, had blocked his path in three sets: 6-4, 1-6 and 6-4.
Four years later, in London 2012 and on the grass of Wimbledon, Djokovic lost to eventual gold medalist Andy Murray and was forced to play for bronze against Juan Martín del Potro, who defeated him 7-5 and 6-4. Fourth... the bitter ‘chocolate medal’.
At Rio 2016, the pain was even harder to take, with Nole freely admitting, “It was one of the toughest defeats of my career”. He once again stumbled against Del Potro - in the first round, by 7-6 (4) and 7-6 (2). The photo of a shattered Djokovic, queuing for the bus that takes the athletes to the village carrying his racket bag remains in the memory.
But in Paris his redemption came with a brilliant match, and Alcaraz, who got the better of him on grass at Wimbledon just a few weeks ago could only applaud the new Olympic champion.
Which other tennis players have won the Golden Slam?
With today’s gold medal triumph, Djokovic becomes the fifth player to complete the mythical Golden Slam in the individual events. The first to achieve the feat was Steffi Graff, who started her run by beating Chris Evert at the Australian Open, then Natasha Zvereva at Roland-Garros, Martina Navratilova in the Wimbledon women’s final, Gabriela Sabatini at the US Open and again in the final at the Seoul 1988 Games.
Steffi is actually the only player to have completed a true, authentic Golden Slam - ie. won all five competitions in the same year.
A total of four other players have achieved a Golden Slam over the course of their careers - still a significant feat in itself.
They are: Andre Agassi (Wimbledon 1992, US Open 1994, Australian Open 1995, gold medal men’s singles Atlanta 1996 and Roland-Garros 1999); Rafa Nadal (Roland-Garros 2005, Wimbledon 2008, gold medal men’s singles Beijing 2008, Australian Open 2009, US Open 2010), Serena Williams (US Open 1999, gold medal women’s doubles Sydney 2000, Roland-Garros 2002, Wimbledon 2002, Australian Open 2003) and Novak Djokovic (Australian Open 2008, Wimbledon 2011, US Open 2011, Roland-Garros 2016 and gold medal men’s singles Paris 2024).
In the doubles events, 12 players have achieved the Golden Slam, including Pam Shriver, Serena and Venus Williams, and Daniel Nestor.