Novak Djokovic finally got his hands on an Olympic gold medal as he came through two tie-breaks to beat Carlos Alcaraz at Roland-Garros. (More Tennis News)
In a match that lasted almost three hours, the 24-time grand slam champion edged a thrilling contest 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) in the French capital.
In a repeat of their Wimbledon showdown last month, the pair traded blows in the opening games as they tried to gain the early advantage.
Alcaraz would be the first to blink, handing Djokovic three chances to break in the third game, but the Serb was unable to grasp that opportunity.
The 21-year-old would then miss three chances to take the lead himself in the following game as the gripping contest continued to ebb and flow on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
In the ninth game, Djokovic saved five break points, to gain the momentum heading into the first-set tie-break where he would emerge the victor.
The second set told a similar story to the first, with Alcaraz squandering a break of serve in the third game, with both holding their serves.
And as he did in the first, Djokovic showcased all of his experience, claiming the triumph with a powerful forehand.
Djokovic finally achieves the full set
Having claimed bronze at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Djokovic now has that gold medal that has proved elusive over the past 16 years.
The Serb showed in the first set his powers of recovery to save all eight of the break points he faced, finally getting one over his recent kryptonite on the court.
At 37 years and 74 days, Djokovic is the oldest player to secure a gold medal in either the men's or women's singles at the Olympics.
Djokovic's victory also saw him become the fourth player to defeat multiple grand slam champions on route to winning the gold medal in the men's singles at the Olympics, after Nicolas Massu (2004), Rafael Nadal (2008) and Andy Murray (2012).
He is now only the second player in the Open Era to have won all four grand slams, the gold medal at the Olympics and the ATP Tour Finals, along with Andre Agassi.
Alcaraz down, but certainly not out
For Alcaraz, it was yet another impressive showing, but even he was unable to stand in the way of Djokovic claiming the prize he craved the most.
Having levelled the second-set tie-break at 3-3, the Spaniard looked the favourite to go on and take it to a decider, but you can never count out a man who has 24 grand slam titles to his name.
Alcaraz missed the opportunity to become only the second player to defeat Djokovic in ATP-level event finals on grass and clay courts, with many hoping to see another battle between two of tennis' brightest stars in the future.
Despite the defeat, he is still the only player to claim multiple ATP top-five wins on each of clay, grass and hard court in consecutive years. John McEnroe (1984) is the only other player to achieve the feat in a single season.
