Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, ranked number one by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), has lost the semifinal match of the men's singles at the Tokyo Olympics to German player Alexander Zverev. Zverev is currently ranked fifth by the ATP, but was third in 2017. In the past, Djokovic has suggested that Zverev might "surpass" him one day.
Zverev won the Olympic semifinal match by scoring 6-1 in the first and third sets, while losing to Djokovic 3-6 in the second. The German athlete will face Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov in the finals.
The defeat ended Djokovic's bid in 2021 to gain the "Golden Slam" title, which is given to a player for winning four Grand Slam tournaments (the Australian Open, French Open, US Open, and Wimbledon) as well as the Olympics in the same calendar year. The Serbian star still needs a US Open victory to win the calendar year Grand Slam title.
German tennis ace Steffi Graf has so far been the only one to win the calendar year "Golden Slam", while 25 more achieved a "career Golden Slam" – when they won all four tournaments plus the Olympics, but not in the same or consecutive years. Two more tennis players, Bob and Mike Bryan, managed to win a "non-calendar Gold Slam" in doubles by winning the five required tournaments in 365 days, but not in the same calendar year.