With great skill, the Serbian pushed Tsitsipas aside to advance to his fourth semifinal at an Olympic Games. Next opponent, the Italian Musetti.
The semifinal lineup of the men’s draw of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was resolved moments ago with Novak Djokovic’s victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-3, 7-6), a match that had moments of great equality, even a moment of concern with the Serbian’s knee, requiring medication in the middle of the second set to avoid a setback. These incidents eventually became anecdotes within a battle that always had a clear favorite to advance to the semifinals. It was the Serbian who did so, setting up another shot at medals in the most important sporting event on the calendar.
Despite being a quarterfinal match at the Olympic Games, many had their doubts about whether this would be the most exciting match of the draw, with most placing Djokovic as the clear and only favorite. Little faith in Tsitsipas’ chances? Perhaps, but that’s the result of looking at the Greek’s recent months of competition, where he has been far from his best competitive form and even further from making an impact in important rounds. Do you remember the last significant victory by the Athenian? The one that stayed in the media for days? Since winning the title in Monte Carlo, nothing. This is what Stefanos faced today, his present form and that of his opponent as well.
Because at 37 years old, Novak cannot think of anything else but the present. And that present was pointing towards his unattained forbidden dream, the Olympic gold medal. His journey to this round had been flawless, including the first set against the Greek, where he made the necessary adjustments in crucial moments to secure a comfortable 6-3 lead, relying on his usual solidity and innate determination to seize opportunities that arise. With a set in his bag, predictions were made with the expectation that nothing more would happen in Philippe Chatrier. It was then that, suddenly and unexpectedly, Djokovic injured his knee and started limping. His expression on the bench indicated that there was more drama to unfold.
Meanwhile, Tsitsipas already held a break early on, but that lead soon expanded to a 4-0 on the scoreboard, raising alarms in Djokovic’s camp. His coaches remained poker-faced, while his wife opted to cover herself with the country’s flag to keep her cards hidden. There was a sense of fear in the air, the concern that the same movie we saw on this same court 50 days ago, where Nole injured his meniscus and unfortunately had no chance to compete in the quarterfinals against Ruud, would play out again. Far from believing in a curse at Chatrier, reality posed two basic questions: Would a pill serve to allow Novak to compete till the end? And more importantly, to what extent was it worth risking considering there are four more months left in the season?
DRAMA AND INTO THE SEMIFINALS
One thing was clear: Djokovic was not going to give up, no matter what. However, the score showed 4-1 in Tsitsipas’ favor. Then 5-2. And what next? Then, with the effect of the pill he took at the beginning of the set, Novak began his own comeback, one of the many he has gifted us in his career. This led to a tiebreak situation at 5-5, with the feeling that the Greek’s ship had sailed without him and the Belgrade ‘jackal’ was at his most voracious.
What followed had just the right mix of excitement, equality, and surprise. Yes, Stefanos was ahead several times, dictating the game’s tempo, but he still lacks the mental ability to handle those crucial moments. He managed to overcome in the tiebreak and secured his ticket to the semifinals, where he will face Lorenzo Musetti. For the fourth time in his career, the Belgrade native will battle for a medal at the Olympic Games. He did it at 21, at 25, at 33, and now at 37. Truly remarkable.
