Jannik Sinner says Novak Djokovic’s extremely emotional reaction to winning the Paris Olympics is very understandable considering everything the Serb went through before accomplishing one of his biggest goals and dreams.
After Carlos Alcaraz won back-to-back Grand Slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, it wasn’t a secret that many had him as the favorite in the Paris Olympics final versus Djokovic.
And indeed, Alcaraz delivered a great performance and played at a high-level throughout the entire final – but Djokovic did so as well – and he did it a bit better and clinched a 7-6 (3) 7-6 (2) win in a two-set Olympic final that lasted nearly three hours. Had the match gone to a decider, the final would have very likely come near or top four hours of play – which would be absolutely insane.
A very high-quality match, I’m sure everyone will agree. A very physically demanding match. When two of the best in the world face off, something special has to happen. It was a pleasure to watch such a match, I think everyone enjoyed it. You really don’t see a match like that every day,” Sinner said in his pre-tournament presser in Montreal.
This year, Djokovic has been very openly telling everyone that winning his first Olympic gold medal is his biggest goal and priority for this part of his career. And after getting one and completing his astonishing resume to the absolute fullest, the 37-year-old celebrated very passionately and emotionally on the court – that included the Serb going down on his knees and sobbing tears of joy.
“Of course I understand, but I think he understands it more than anyone else. He tried so hard to get this medal, which was the last thing he needed to accomplish. He knew this in his mind. He was close a couple of times, making bronze or fourth a couple of times. This year was his year, and it was just a very nice scene, to see how much this means to him,” Sinner explained.
