Novak Djokovic has received an apology from sports broadcast network Eurosport over an error made in a post about his 2024 Paris Olympics triumph.
The Serbian legend defeated Carlos Alcaraz in an enthralling two-set Olympic gold medal match lasting almost three hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday.
Djokovic, who was playing his fifth Olympics, claimed his first-ever gold medal and has now won every significant title in tennis.
The 37-year-old’s triumph saw him become the fifth player to complete the career Golden Slam after Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
Following Djokovic’s win, Eurosport mistakenly shared a social media post to celebrate Djokovic’s victory with a Croatian flag emoji next to the Serb’s name. Eurosport received a backlash from Serbians and fans of Djokovic and deleted the post.
In a statement, the network apologised for the error: “We deeply regret the mistake that was made when choosing a flag emoticon to post on a social network and sincerely apologise. Once again, we congratulate Novak on a truly historic moment for him and his country.”
Following his emotional victory at the Olympics, Djokovic said: “I’m overwhelmed with everything I’m feeling right now.
“Feeling different emotions. Too proud. Too happy. Thrilled with the possibility to win a gold for the first time in my career for my country. Arguably the biggest success I had.
“I won probably everything there is to win in my individual career. Winning the Davis Cup and particularly a golden medal at age 37 for Serbia is unprecedented.
“I’m super grateful for the blessing to win a historic gold medal for my country. To complete the [career] Golden Slam. To complete all the records.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will next compete at the 2024 US Open, which will be played from August 26 to September 8.
Djokovic has pulled out of the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Montreal, which is ongoing, and Cincinnati, which will begin next week.
The world No 2 is the reigning US Open champion, having won the most recent of his 24 majors in Flushing Meadows last year.
Djokovic is a four-time US Open winner and could tie Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer for the men’s record with victory in New York this year.
