Owner of 24 Grand Slams, Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) to stand on the podium.

Paris: Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in a thrilling men's tennis singles final on Sunday to win his first Olympic gold medal, the 37-year-old Serbian losing his last major performance. Brilliant resume.

Djokovic's impressive career includes a men's record 24 Grand Slam titles and the most weeks spent at No. 1 by any man or woman. He also had a Summer Olympic medal from 2008, but it was a bronze – and he's made it clear that wasn't enough.

Djokovic was 0-3 at the Games until he upset Italy's bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti in Friday's semifinals. He lost to the eventual gold medalist each time: Rafael Nadal in Beijing in 2008, Andy Murray in London in 2012 and Alexander Zverev in Tokyo three years ago.

In Paris, wearing a gray sleeve on his right knee that required surgery for a torn meniscus two months ago, Djokovic faced Nadal in the second round and defeated his long-time rival in straight sets. Now Djokovic is the oldest man to win a singles gold medal in his sport since 1908 — eclipsing Spain's Alcaraz, who is 21, from becoming the youngest.