The men’s singles tennis tournament at the Paris Olympics threw up some huge rivalry as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic went head to head again, after Alcaraz got the better of the Serb in the last two Wimbledon finals, so how did it pan out and what does it mean for the future.
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00:00The Olympics brought up quite some incredible stories, whether it was Nidal Kheraz in those
00:07early rounds, obviously Andy Murray as well. But on the singles, Novak Djokovic with a
00:12gold, quite a remarkable story, recovering from his surgery in June to then reach a Wimbledon
00:17final and then win an Olympic gold.
00:21It was amazing. I think the whole thing about the tennis at the Olympics was amazing. Yeah,
00:25there were so many stories. We kind of hoped that Murray would really go deep and then
00:30he couldn't play. And then we weren't sure about Nidal's form. He skipped Wimbledon to
00:35practice for this and that didn't work out. And the whole hype around Nidal and Djokovic
00:42match, that seems like ages ago because it feels like so much has happened. And then
00:47the drama with Novak's knee. And I think it took like a superhuman effort from Novak.
00:52I think Novak decided he was going to put his life on the line for that match. You know,
00:58you felt those forehands in the tie breaks. They literally it was something that came
01:01from within. You could hear it and feel the energy. And he put everything into those few
01:06strokes. And I think that was a difference in the match. It was literally just like a
01:10handful of forehands that he kind of willed from within. And I think it was an unbelievable
01:16story for him and his career. And yeah, I mean, really, really incredible.
01:22Yeah, obviously the relief on his face when he dropped to his knees, you know, winning
01:25that final forehand point to secure the gold medal. Five Olympic Games to do it. Why do
01:31you think it actually took him so long to win that gold? Because he's sort of won everything
01:35else in that time.
01:37I think it means so much to him to play for his country. I mean, as tennis fans and Novak
01:43fans, I think a lot of people don't really care that much about the Olympics. I think
01:47it has changed now. Maybe it kind of means more now. He's put so much emphasis on the
01:53Olympic gold. I almost feel like it's become a bigger title because we didn't really care
01:57about the Olympics for tennis tournaments. It was always about the slams. And, you know,
02:02but it really did. I didn't think that I cared that much, but it was so emotional to see
02:06that.
02:07And Carlos Alcraz, obviously, we've mentioned how good he is, how much of a massive future
02:11he has in the sport. You know, a moment for him because a fantastic year so far. Obviously,
02:17we've got the US Open to come, but, you know, a Wimbledon title, Roland Garros and an Olympic
02:22silver. I mean, you can't really argue with that in terms of a year on the calendar.
02:26Yeah, I mean, he's been absolutely incredible. After he lost to Novak in Cincinnati last
02:32year, he was kind of a bit of a shadow of himself. And I think he went titleless for
02:36a good few months. And now he's back. He's well and truly back. You know, Roland Garros
02:42was unbelievable and he'd come off an injury as well. If he stays injury free, it's frightening
02:48to think what Alcraz is going to do in his career. And I think he's definitely going
02:51to win an Olympic gold. He's probably going to do it next time, if not, you know, the
02:55time after that. And he's got a lot of years to look forward to.