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.
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.
Club Brugge 0-3 Borussia Dortmund: Gittens nets twice as last season's finalists open with win
Jamie Gittens scored twice as Borussia Dortmund opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 victory away at Club Brugge.
Serhou Guirassy added a late penalty for last season's finalists, who netted three times in the final quarter of an hour at Jan Breydelstadion.
Brugge carried the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, going closest to scoring when Hugo Vetlesen rattled the crossbar, but they were made to pay for their profligacy.
Gittens entered the action as a 68th-minute substitute and broke the deadlock eight minutes later - albeit in fortuitous circumstances - with his shot taking two deflections before nestling in the top-left corner.
The 20-year-old doubled his and Dortmund's tally with four minutes remaining, cutting inside before firing past Simon Mignolet in the Brugge goal.
Guirassy added further gloss to the scoreline from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, slotting home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Brandon Mechele.
Data Debrief: Super sub Gittens stars in historic win
Keeping Brugge at bay, Dortmund became the first team in Champions League history to play a single opponent five times without conceding a goal.
Gittens got the ball rolling at the other end. At 20 years and 41 days old, he is the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet, who was just 34 days younger when he struck against K. Lierse SK in October 1997.
Guirassy completed the victory from the spot, meaning Dortmund have now converted each of their last six Champions League penalties, last failing from 12 yards against Barcelona in September 2019 through Marco Reus.
Club Brugge 0-3 Borussia Dortmund: Gittens net twice as last season's finalists open with win
Jamie Gittens scored twice as Borussia Dortmund opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 victory away at Club Brugge.
Serhou Guirassy added a late penalty for last season's finalists, who netted three times in the final quarter of an hour at Jan Breydelstadion.
Brugge carried the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, going closest to scoring when Hugo Vetlesen rattled the crossbar, but they were made to pay for their profligacy.
Gittens entered the action as a 68th-minute substitute and broke the deadlock eight minutes later - albeit in fortuitous circumstances - with his shot taking two deflections before nestling in the top-left corner.
The 20-year-old doubled his and Dortmund's tally with four minutes remaining, cutting inside before firing past Simon Mignolet in the Brugge goal.
Guirassy added further gloss to the scoreline from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, slotting home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Brandon Mechele.
Data Debrief: Super sub Gittens stars in historic win
Keeping Brugge at bay, Dortmund became the first team in Champions League history to play a single opponent five times without conceding a goal.
Gittens got the ball rolling at the other end. At 20 years and 41 days old, he is the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet, who was just 34 days younger when he struck against K. Lierse SK in October 1997.
Guirassy completed the victory from the spot, meaning Dortmund have now converted each of their last six Champions League penalties, last failing from 12 yards against Barcelona in September 2019 through Marco Reus.
Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Girona: Gazzaniga's late error spoils visitors' Champions League bow
Paris Saint-Germain sneaked to a 1-0 home victory over Champions League debutants Girona on Wednesday after Paulo Gazzaniga's costly late blunder.
Nuno Mendes' harmless low delivery across goal slipped through visiting goalkeeper Gazzaniga's grasp in the 90th minute to hand the hosts an opening victory at Parc des Princes.
Girona's defence effectively neutralised PSG's attack in the first half, causing mounting frustration for the hosts before Michel's side began to waste time, drawing boos from the Parc des Princes crowd.
Randal Kolo Muani and Achraf Hakimi had late chances, but both missed from close range before Gazzinga inexplicably allowed Mendes' tame cross to squirm through his hands.
Data Debrief: PSG's fortress continues unbroken
Though winning in fortuitous circumstances, PSG have now only lost one of their 37 home games in the group stage of the Champions League (W29 D7) since the start of the 2012-13 campaign.
Parc des Princes remains the Ligue 1 champions' fortress, with only one of the last 29 teams (D8 L20) travelling away to PSG for the first time in the competition winning (Manchester United, 3-1 in March 2019).
Luis Enrique has Gazzaniga to thank, however, with Girona's own goal the first in the 90th minute of a Champions League game since November 2022, since Porto's Ivan Marcano against Atletico Madrid.
It was the first ever 90th-minute own goal in the competition that proved to be the winner but, concerningly, PSG have now attempted 71 shot attempts since one of their own players scored in Europe.
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