‘Novak Djokovic proved me wrong’, admits Slam winner and frequent critic after Paris Olympics triumph
Italian tennis icon Adriano Panatta has admitted Novak Djokovic proved him wrong by claiming the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The former world No 4 and French Open winner congratulated Djokovic on his triumph and proclaimed that the Serbian legend showed he is “an immense champion.”
Djokovic earned his first Olympic gold medal in his fifth appearance at the Games with an outstanding display against Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles final on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion found by far his best performance of 2024 to defeat the 21-year-old star 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in a thrilling gold medal match. The 37-year-old has now won every significant prize in tennis.
Alcaraz was the favourite to win the Olympics after securing the French Open and Wimbledon titles this summer and dismantling Djokovic in the final at the All England Club just three weeks ago.
Prior to the Olympics, Djokovic had not won a title since the 2023 ATP Finals in November and was experiencing a challenging season for his remarkably high standards. His Olympics victory is his 99th career singles title.
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Speaking on La Telefonata podcast after Wimbledon, Panatta assessed that Djokovic could no longer beat Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner and argued the Serb was not a contender for the Olympic gold.
“As far as I am concerned, he (Alcaraz) and Sinner are tied for first in terms of what they have shown this year,” said the Italian. “This logic of basing the ranking on last year’s results, I do not understand.
“Novak, I don’t think he has what it takes to beat Carlos or Jannik and for the Games, I think it’s going to be a deal between the two of them as far as the gold is concerned.”
In a post on X, Panatta shared a classy message to pay tribute to Djokovic’s achievement and acknowledge he had missed the mark with his recent analysis.
“Djokovic today demonstrated, if there was still any need, that he is an immense champion (translated from Italian),” Panatta wrote.
“I said I didn’t think he could play at this level again, but he proved me wrong and I wanted to honour him. Hats off!”
Panatta won the French Open in 1976 and was the only player to defeat tennis great Bjorn Borg at Roland Garros, achieving the impressive feat twice.
