This article is part of our Tennis Picks series.
The tennis schedule at the 2024 Paris Olympics saved the best match for last, with top two seeds Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz set to face off for the men's singles gold medal Sunday. The loser will have to settle for the silver medal, and while there's no shame in falling short against either of these all-time great talents, these rivals from different generations are both taking aim at adding a first gold medal to their expansive trophy cases.
All Tennis Odds & Lines are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook, but you can sometimes find more favorable odds on some of these matches by checking mobile sportsbooks such as FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, or any of the other best sports betting sites. We offer exclusive sign-up bonuses for some of those sportsbooks in states where sports betting has gone live.
All men's singles matches at the Olympics are best of three sets. A mix of players' previous clay court results, recent form and stylistic matchups can help pinpoint intriguing betting opportunities, both among favorites likely to cruise to victory and underdogs ready to pull off upsets.
Olympic Tennis Gold Medal Odds: Alcaraz vs. Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz (-225) vs. Novak Djokovic (+180)
These two players need no introduction, as this will be the seventh installment in what has become one of the best rivalries in all of sports. After Djokovic won three Grand Slams in 2023 to reach his record mark of 24, Alcaraz has had by far the better year in 2024. The 21-year-old Spaniard has doubled his career Grand Slam total in the last two months by winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, capping off that feat with a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) triumph over Djokovic in the Wimbledon championship match. That Alcaraz victory leveled their head-to-head at 3-3, though their only previous meeting at this venue went to Djokovic in 2023 — a highly anticipated French Open semifinal that turned one-sided after Alcaraz cramped in the third set and never recovered. That Djokovic win avenged an Alcaraz victory on clay in their very first meeting, so they are tied 1-1 on this surface.
Both players will be highly motivated for this gold medal match, but Djokovic wants this as much as anything he could accomplish this year considering an Olympic gold medal is just about the only thing missing from his GOAT-level resume, so expect him to conjure up a more competitive performance than he did at Wimbledon. Neither one of these superstars dropped a set en route to the gold medal match, though both had close calls in the quarterfinals. Alcaraz came back from 5-2 down in the second set to beat American Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-6 (7) before obliterating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals, while Djokovic erased a 4-0 second-set deficit following a medical timeout to take out Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (3) before knocking off familiar foe Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-2 in the semis. The knee injury that cut Djokovic's French Open bid short and flared up against Tsitsipas doesn't seem to be bothering the Serbian legend too much heading into this match, but Djokovic still finds himself in relatively unfamiliar territory as the clear underdog after Alcaraz's recent accolades. Alcaraz has a superior 38-6 record in 2024 with three titles, while Djokovic is 28-7 without a title this year.
Olympic Gold Medal Prediction: Alcaraz def. Djokovic 6-4, 6-7, 6-4
