Novak Djokovic’s knee, which had been recently repaired through surgery, didn’t seem to affect his performance as he reached his first Summer Olympics singles final. He beat Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-2 on Friday night.
Djokovic will face Carlos Alcaraz for the gold medal on Sunday. This match is a repeat of their Wimbledon final from three weeks ago.
At 37, Djokovic is the oldest man to reach a men’s singles final at the Olympics, while 21-year-old Alcaraz is the youngest.
Before this semifinal, Djokovic had a 0-3 record in Olympic semifinals, having lost to the eventual champion each time: Rafael Nadal in Beijing, Andy Murray in London, and Alexander Zverev in Tokyo. Djokovic mentioned this challenge several times recently.
Djokovic also had concerns about his knee heading into Friday night’s match, as he had felt “sharp pain” in it while winning against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals on Thursday. He had torn the meniscus in the knee during the French Open in early June and had surgery in Paris.
Despite these issues, Djokovic was fine but was frustrated by things like the chair umpire calling him twice for time violations and then giving him a warning for using foul language.
When the match ended, Djokovic lay down on his back on the court, spreading his limbs for a few moments.
