Very few genuinely believed that Novak Djokovic could beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Olympic final, but he did, and that's all that matters because he did win the event.
The 37-year-old arrived in Paris after a disappointing showing in the 2024 Wimbledon Championships final, in which Alcaraz almost appeared to be toying with him. That was a terrible sign for Djokovic, who was supposed to now outplay the Spaniard on clay, which is a surface where Alcaraz should have had further advantage.
They just had played on grass, which favored Djokovic more, and the Serbian couldn't trouble his opponent. The way the Wimbledon final played out made many pessimistic about Djokovic's chances.
Alcaraz was expected to win the gold medal, and even the Spaniard announced the gold medal charge ahead of the final, with tennis analysts heavily backing him.
Djokovic remained fairly silent during that time while maintaining that he believed in himself. There was only one match between him and a lifelong dream, and the Serbian was not going to allow it to slip away.
That's exactly what happened as he went on to outplay the Spaniard. He was just perfect, leaving the 21-year-old without any solutions. Alcaraz had chances and, at times, looked like the better player, but when he needed to step up and deliver, he couldn't.
Andrea Petkovic is a player who knows Djokovic really well. She played at the same time as him, and they've interacted plenty of times over the years.
She recently published another edition of her newsletter, mentioning also Djokovic's achievement, saying that the only thing that powered him to win was his belief.
Although nobody believed that he could win, he did believe, and his run in Paris showed the power of believing in yourself even when everything seems against you.
It's why it's said that confidence matters so much in tennis—it makes all the difference. In that final, Djokovic had all the confidence while Alcaraz's slowly evaporated.
"Novak Djokovic has shown us what belief can do to turn a season around. He didn’t win a title all year (which is not unusual for anybody else but him) but found his best game to win gold when it mattered most to him."
"How did he do it? Belief. In himself and God. He was wearing a cross around his neck which he frequently touched before important points."
It was a fascinating match in many ways and certainly a legacy moment for both Djokovic and Alcaraz. For some of the younger players, who hope to get to Djokovic's level, with Alcaraz among them, it was also another lesson given by the 24-time major winner.