Novak Djokovic has changed the color of his Olympic medal after 16 years. Photo: Tennis

Have you ever seen Novak Djokovic cry? Maybe, but that memory will probably be hard to remember. But August 4, 2024 will be a day to remember Djokovic's tears. Right after the decisive hit to decide the tie-break in the second set of the men's singles final of the 2024 Olympics, Djokovic dropped his racket, made a celebratory gesture, turned around and shook hands with Carlos Alcaraz before starting to let out his unprecedented emotions. Djokovic knelt down, his head resting on his arms, and burst into tears. Close-up images show the 37-year-old tennis player's entire body shaking violently. He raised his face to the sky, made the sign of the cross, and then collapsed again. Returning to his seat, the 24-time Grand Slam winner continued to cry, unable to stop. Receiving the Serbian flag from the ball girl, Djokovic continued to cry and celebrate. Running up to the stands, the tennis legend once again let out his emotions with his coaching staff and relatives. It is not too much to say that, throughout his career, fans have never seen Nole cry for so long and emotionally. And if possible, they want it to last forever. Because it is worth the wait. Worthy of what Djokovic has gone through. As a contrast, in the final, Djokovic attended the Olympics for the fifth time, while Alcaraz attended for the first time. Not to say that the Spanish player did not deserve to win the gold medal, but it would be too cruel for Djokovic's career if he were not the winner.

Djokovic cried non-stop with emotions he had never felt before. Photo: Tennis

16 years to change the color of the medal. Talking about time, it is really long. And talking about events, people will see the length is even more terrible. Because unlike the Grand Slam tournaments that take place every year for Djokovic to win, the Olympics only come once every 4 years. When Djokovic first participated in the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, with a bronze medal at the age of 21 - like Alcaraz now, most believed that the gold medal would soon come to him. With a series of achievements on the ATP Tour, Djokovic's position in the temple of legends would be brighter. But then, with 1 elimination in the first round, 2 stops in the semi-finals, suddenly, people saw that Djokovic was 34 years old at the last Olympics in Tokyo 3 years ago. The gold medal was nowhere to be seen, while the corners of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were still "brighter" when they both had Olympic gold medals. Is there any faith in Djokovic after losing to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, suffering a knee injury that required surgery, and taking to the court with a knee brace? Yes, but not much. However, in the most dire of circumstances, Nole is still Nole, with a calmness that is superior to Alcaraz, the young player plays with excitement and shows a clear desire to win. People thought that if Alcaraz just increased the speed, Djokovic would collapse. But in the "saw-and-saw" match, Alcaraz's 33 unforced errors had to pay the price. As for Djokovic, in that battle, he put everything - heart, soul, body, family - into it to fight. With those values, the victory blew everything away. Finally, the missing piece in the "Djokovic area" was filled. All the jealousy about his shortcomings was resolved. After the tears and emotions that filled Philippe Chatrier court on Sunday afternoon, Djokovic can now smile with satisfaction.