Novak Djokovic is through to the first Olympic gold medal match of his long, storied career following a straight-sets 6-4 6-2 victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti on Friday evening.

It was a huge breakthrough for the Serb to finally win an Olympic semi-final, a round which has proved to be such a barrier for the 24-time Grand Slam champion in previous Games.

Djokovic will now take home either a gold or silver medal. A medal of either colour will be his best Olympic result, but there's no doubt which colour he is targeting - the Olympic gold that he wants so much: “I'm going to go for gold on Sunday, there is no doubt about it, but this is a big deal.”

Standing in his way of that ultimate prize however is world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who he will meet in final on the last day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Tennis Event. 

Three times previously Djokovic had reached Olympic singles semi-finals, and three times previously he had stumbled.

“It’s a huge relief because I’ve never got to the Olympic finals. Three out of four of the Olympic Games that I’ve played, I played in the semis and won bronze in the first one in Beijing, but after that, I kind of failed to overcome that hurdle," he said. 

“So just to secure a higher medal for the first time for my country, whatever happens on Sunday, it’s a huge pride, honour and happiness. It's why I celebrated the way I did, and I still feel like I need to celebrate that because it's a big success."

On his debut at Beijing 2008, Djokovic was defeated in the last four by Rafael Nadal, before winning the bronze medal against James Blake that until now was his only Olympic souvenir. At London 2012, Djokovic fell at hands of Andy Murray, then lost the bronze medal match to Juan Martin Del Potro; history agonisingly repeated itself at Tokyo 2020, where he fell in the semi-finals to Germany’s Alexander Zverev then lost the bronze medal to Pablo Carreno Busta.

At Paris 2024, the semi-final jinx has finally ended for Djokovic, and history now beckons. 

Injury concerns had swirled around Djokovic’s semi-final encounter with Musetti, but in the end a victory that was so personally momentous was really quite straightforward.

The Serb showed little sign of the right knee injury that he said he had aggravated in his quarter-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, and he was the superior player for most of the match despite being a little slow out of the blocks.

“We had to do some additional treatments and things to basically bring the knee into the best possible state for today," Djokovic said afterwards. "Until this morning, I didn't really know how it was going to feel. Although the tests that we did after I spoke to you guys yesterday were positive. So it was not as bad, and then this morning it was also pretty good." 

“It didn't bother me at all. So I’m really glad that there's nothing serious about it.”

It was 22-year-old Musetti who got the first break point opportunity in the third game of their semi-final, but he was unable to convert. He had no further chances but hung on to Djokovic’s coat tails to draw out the first set to well over an hour, surviving break points in the fourth game.

But with Djokovic winning most of the baseline rallies and Musetti’s error count growing, the crucial break for the Serb came as Musetti was serving to stay in the set at 4-5.

The second set was a very different affair, and the pair traded breaks in the first four games. Djokovic’s frustration at being unable to get ahead briefly threatened to destabilise him, as he vented his anger in shouts to his team watching in the stands.

“I was thinking about all the semifinals that I lost in the Olympic Games before today's match, and that's why I was very tense on the court," he said. "I was very nervous, a lot of emotions." 

But he kept the faith, and two more breaks on the Musetti serve in the sixth and eight games secured Djokovic this much-longed-for victory.

He fell briefly on his back in celebration on the Roland Garros clay, and when he got up, the relief on his face was as evident as the elation.

Djokovic goes into Sunday's blockbuster against Alcaraz with confidence that he can reverse the result of the Wimbledon final, when the Spaniard won in straight sets to deny him a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

“I feel like I'm a different player than I was at Wimbledon, the way I move, the way I’m striking the ball. Not to take anything away from him winning the Wimbledon finals, he was dominating and deservedly a winner, but I feel more confident about myself and my chances in the finals.”