Novak Djokovic’s dream of winning the elusive golden slam at Tokyo Olympics has been shattered as Germany’s Alexander Zverev defeated the world’s no. 1 Tennis player in men’s singles semi-final match.
After being one set down, Zverev made a stunning comeback to defeat the Serbian Tennis star 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Every year, tennis players have the opportunity to achieve a Grand Slam by winning all four majors: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. But every four years, or, perhaps, five years, as it is in this case, they have the opportunity to achieve a “Golden Grand Slam”—which means winning all four majors and the Olympics.
Djokovic was eyeing the coveted Golden Grand Slam by winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic gold medal in a calendar year. He had won the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon and came to Tokyo seeking for the fourth one. The United States Open takes place at the end of the summer.
So far, Steffi Graf remains the only Tennis player who has been able to achieve the remarkable feat of winning the Golden Slam. She won the slam in 1988.
Zverev’s final match for the gold medal will be against Karen Khachanov. The Russian Tennis player had defeated Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 6-3.
Djokovic will play Carreno Busta for bronze. It is worth noting that Djokovic had remained unbeaten since his loss to Rafael Nadal at the Italian Open final about two and a half months ago.