This match started nothing like their last confrontation at Wimbledon, where Alcaraz was clearly dominating every game. That final wasn’t even close. Djokovic got close to winning the third set but came up short.

This time, with a gold medal at stake, Djokovic is playing a much more consistent game. Both playing at really high level. Novak won the first set tiebreak, but in the second set Alcaraz was not going to let go easy, with his mix of sneaky dropshots and powerful forehands, keeping Djokovic on his toes until the end, forcing a tie-break in the second set as well.

Djokovic has won every Masters 1000, every Grand Slam and now an olympic gold medal. What else is there to win? But knowing how ambitious Djokovic is, he wants to win as much as he can before retiring. And there is no way that after achieving his most wanted goal, he will pick this moment to put up his racquet forever.

7-6 7-6. Numbers Djokovic will never forget.