Paris Olympics
Djokovic saves three set points, beats Tsitsipas at Paris Olympics
Serbian faces Musetti in semi-finals
August 01, 2024
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic in action Thursday at the Paris Olympics.
By ATP Staff
Serbian Novak Djokovic moved one step closer to an elusive first gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Thursday when he earned a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(3) victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 37-year-old trailed 2-5 in a dramatic second set, during which Djokovic saved three set points and twice called the physio for his right knee, the same knee on which he had surgery in early June after withdrawing from Roland Garros.
The top seed moved gingerly and grimaced in pain throughout the early stages of the second set. After calling the physio at 0-3 and again at 1-4, Djokovic appeared to regain confidence in his movement. He crushed a forehand winner while sliding towards the right, putting loads of pressure on his right leg, on a pivotal deuce point. Djokovic saved three set points on return at 4-5, 0/40.
Djokovic leads the Greek Tsitsipas 12-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Thursday marked their first meeting since the 2023 Australian Open final.
Up next for the top seed is 11th seed Lorenzo Musetti, who upset defending Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev 7-5, 7-5. Djokovic has won six of his seven meetings against Musetti, including three matches this season. The Belgrade native defeated Musetti in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Djokovic, who won the singles bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, could meet rival Carlos Alcaraz in the gold-medal match.