Novak Djokovic matches Serena Williams, Roger Federer in rare Olympic feat
At the fifth time of asking, Novak Djokovic is finally into an Olympic final.
The Olympic Games haven’t always been the happiest of hunting grounds for arguably the greatest male player of all time, with Djokovic on the wrong side of some big results throughout his Olympic career.
However, after claiming bronze at the Beijing 2008 Games, he is guaranteed at least a silver medal after beating Lorenzo Musetti in Friday’s semi-final.
Carlos Alcaraz stands between him and a gold medal but, by reaching the final, he has already matched two other legends.
He, Serena Williams, and Roger Federer are now the only players in the modern era to reach singles finals after their 30th birthdays.
Serena Williams – London 2012
Having already claimed two doubles golds, Williams finally claimed Olympic singles gold at the age of 30, producing one of the most dominant runs in Games history.
Seeded fourth, the US star downed Jelena Jankovic for the loss of just four games in round one, before dropping five games to Urszula Radwanska in round two – the most games she dropped in any match.
Williams then stormed past Vera Zvonareva and Caroline Wozniacki to reach the last eight, before downing world No 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-2 to reach the gold medal match.
She famously dropped just one game against Maria Sharapova to take the title, and also won a third doubles crown alongside sister Venus.
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Roger Federer – London 2012
The London Games also saw a 30-year-old Federer reach the final, claiming his only Olympic singles medal.
On his beloved Centre Court, the Swiss star battled past Alejandro Falla in three sets to start his campaign, before easing past Julien Benneteau and Denis Istomin to reach the last eight.
There, he saw off the big-serving John Isner in straight sets, before scraping past Juan Martin del Potro in the last four, prevailing 19-17 in an extraordinary third set.
Perhaps fatigued by that epic, Federer was beaten comfortably by Andy Murray in the final, the Brit prevailing 6-2, 6-1, 7-5.
Novak Djokovic – Paris 2024
What makes Djokovic’s run even more impressive is that, while Federer and Williams were 30 when they achieved this, the world No 2 has reached the final aged 37.
It has been an impressive run for the Serb, who is yet to drop a set.
He started his campaign with a one-sided win over Matt Ebden, needing just 54 minutes and dropping one game, before easing past great rival Rafael Nadal in a memorable round two meeting.
Djokovic then saw off Dominik Koepfer in the third round, before rallying from a 0-4 deficit in the second set to continue his recent dominance over eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last eight.
The No 1 seed was tested at times against Musetti but was largely comfortable in a 6-4, 6-2 triumph, and all eyes are now on how he fares against Alcaraz on Sunday.
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