The victory lifted Djokovic into the most elite club of all: The Golden Slammers. There he joined Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams, the only players to win all four majors and an Olympic singles gold. Djokovic called it the final piece in his puzzle, and said it made him feel, finally, as it he is “enough”—as a person and a player.
The match lasted nearly three hours, but Djokovic made time stand still, as he stopped the changing of the guard in its tracks. He wouldn’t win another title all season, and he appeared, for a moment, destined to lose this one to a younger, more energetic opponent as well. But when the 24-time Slam champ decided he had to have it, there was nothing that younger opponent could do to stop him.
Djokovic, any long-time fan of the sport could have told you, was just being Djokovic. His age may have made you doubt him, but his history should have dispelled those doubts. As the last 20 years have shown us, when he wants something on a tennis court, he finds a way to get it.
