PARIS: Novak Djokovic insists Carlos Alcaraz will be the “favorite” for Olympic gold on Sunday in the latest instalment of tennis’s generational power grab.
At 37, Djokovic would be the oldest Olympic tennis singles champion since the sport returned to the Games at Seoul in 1988.
At 21, Alcaraz would be the youngest of all time.
A win for the Serb would be his first gold medal at the fifth attempt and represent a significant upgrade on the bronze he won at Beijing in 2008.
Victory would also allow Djokovic to become only the fifth player to complete the Golden Slam of all four majors plus an Olympic title.
Only Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf can make similar boasts.
However, Djokovic goes into Sunday’s high-profile clash still bruised by being swept off court by Alcaraz in a one-sided Wimbledon final just three weeks ago.
“I don’t consider myself a favorite because Alcaraz has proven he’s the best player in the world,” said Djokovic pointing to the Spaniard’s rare achievement of winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back.
“He won Roland Garros, he won Wimbledon and beat me in the final quite comfortably there.”
Despite his caution, Djokovic is nothing if not fired up for his seventh career clash against the Spanish crowd-pleaser.
In his stormy semifinal win over Lorenzo Musetti, he was warned for swearing and screamed at his support team watching nervously on Court Philippe Chatrier.
He is acutely aware that Paris 2024 is his last chance to finally capture an elusive gold.
“I was thinking about all the semifinals that I lost in the Olympic Games and that’s why I was very tense on the court. I was very nervous, a lot of emotions.”
Djokovic and Alcaraz have made the final without dropping a set while the Serb appeared to have no adverse reaction to aggravating his right knee injury during a last-eight win against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
He also believes he’s a “different player” to the one beaten so badly at Wimbledon.
“In the way I move, the way I’m striking the ball,” explained Djokovic, who has won three of his 24 Grand Slam titles in Paris.
“Not to take anything away from him winning the Wimbledon final, he was dominating and deservedly a winner, but I feel more confident about myself and my chances in the final.”
The two men have met twice on clay with Alcaraz on top in their first meeting in Madrid in 2022 while Djokovic prevailed in the French Open semifinals last year.
Alcaraz suffered body cramps in that loss, a factor he attributed to the stress of facing Djokovic.
Alcaraz is the fourth Spanish man to reach the Olympic men’s final after Jordi Arrese at Barcelona in 1992, Sergi Bruguera in Atlanta four years later and Nadal who won gold at Beijing in 2008.
“I have imagined (winning gold),” admitted Alcaraz. “I have thought about it and visualized it.
“It is something that boosts my mood, that gives me energy to keep going forward, keep learning, and give all my best every day.”
Victory on Sunday would allow Alcaraz to join Graf and Nadal as the only players to win the French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic gold in the same year.
“We are one step closer. I would love to add my name next to Steffi’s and Rafa’s, two legends from sport in general.
“But I will try not to think of every stat, the things I could achieve ... I will try to avoid all that, and keep improving, and give my best, and make Spanish people proud.”
Djokovic and Alcaraz eye power and glory in Olympic gold medal duel
https://arab.news/yurx5
Djokovic and Alcaraz eye power and glory in Olympic gold medal duel
- At 37, Djokovic would be the oldest Olympic tennis singles champion since the sport returned to the Games at Seoul in 1988
- At 21, Alcaraz would be the youngest of all time
Iva Jovic hopes to channel Novak Djokovic on Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships debut
- American teen sensation looking to build on strong start to 2026 season
DUBAI: Things have been developing fast for American teenager Iva Jovic.
This time last year, she was ranked 167 in the world and had just lost in the opening round of a Challenger in Cancun.
Today, she is perched nicely at a career-high No. 20 in the world rankings, with a WTA title under her belt (in Guadalajara last year) and an Australian Open quarterfinal appearance last month.
At 18, the Californian became the youngest American woman to reach the last-eight stage at Melbourne Park since Venus Williams in 1998.
Having started 2026 with an impressive 11-3 win-loss record (semis in Auckland, final in Hobart, quarters at the Australian Open), Jovic withdrew from the WTA tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha to take some much-needed time off and is now in the UAE ready to make her debut at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
We caught up with Jovic on Saturday ahead of her Dubai opener against former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari.
What does it mean for you to be coming to these tournaments now that you probably were watching in the past coming to this part of the world?
I mean, it’s so special. Obviously, it’s one thing to kind of play your first WTA events and get the feel for it, but it’s a different one to be in the tournaments every week and have your ranking at a place where you can play the full calendar. So that was the goal for me, and it’s pretty incredible to have had it all as it is now and to just be here.
Obviously, I want to win every match I play. I hate to lose. But I also try to remember that just being here is an incredible accomplishment and privilege. But Dubai has been so fun. I went to the mall yesterday. I went to the top of the Burj Khalifa. So I’ve already got to do a couple of things.
The culture and everything is very cool here. It’s my first time in this part of the world, so it’s very cool to see all these new things. I feel like I’m learning a lot, so much more to come.
I know you had to pull out of the last couple of tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha. I’m just wondering, post-Australia, what came into that decision?
Yeah, I think I just needed a little bit more time. I think I played the most matches out of anyone in the Australian swing. It was a lot, and I’m really happy with how it went. It was a great experience, and I won a lot, right? So that’s what you want. But I also needed to rest and train a little bit to just take care of my body. And now I’m feeling good and ready to go to be here in Dubai.
With Australia, now that you’ve had a little bit of time and space since then, what was the biggest takeaways from that? And did any of it take you by surprise?
I like to think that it’s surprising but not surprising, because obviously having great results and maybe some wins weren’t expected, but I also know how hard I’ve worked, and that good things tend to come when you put in the right work. So, surprised, but also not that surprised. Again, I think it’s one thing to have a couple of those good results, but for me the most important thing is consistency. So I want to establish myself as a player who’s going deep every single week.
You’ve got Maria Sakkari in your first round. She just made the semis in Doha. How do you look ahead to that match?
That’s definitely going to be a tough one. So thank you, Alex (Eala) for giving me a tough match. She pulled my name out (during the draw), but that’s okay. I’ll forgive her. But no, that’ll be a difficult one. Maria is a fighter. I played her in doubles, first meeting in singles. I mean I’m so new on the tour, still. I haven’t played a lot of these women. But she’s a competitor. She’s been around for a while and obviously making semis last week. She’s in top form. But, you know, again, you love the battle and you want the tough matches. So hopefully I can pull through.
You got to play the world number one in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. Didn’t go your way, but I’m wondering what did you take from that experience?
Yeah, I think that obviously you want to play the best just to win, yes, but even if you don’t, to just see where you stand. I think I’ve done a good job so far of learning from every loss, and I think that’s all it is. You learn from it, and it’s just fine margins. The differences aren’t that big.
It’s just little details that you need to work on that I’ve already been working on the past couple weeks, so hopefully that can show.
I know Novak Djokovic has been sending you tips. You’ve been in contact. He’s won this tournament a bunch of times. Are you going to perhaps be like, give me some tips for this Dubai court?
Oh, my God. Well, I hope … I don’t know if I’m brave enough to do that. I’m still a little nervous when I talk to him. He’s definitely my idol, but yeah, I see him at every corner. I’m like, how many times did this guy win the tournament? I see him on every screen. But just try to be like Novak. I’m going to keep it that simple.
