Suryakumar Yadav (L) and Novak Djokovic (R) (Image via Instagram/@surya_14kumar) and @djokernole)

Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav was all-praise for tennis legend Novak Djokovic, who won his first Olympic gold medal on Sunday, August 4. The Serbian became the oldest tennis player to win an Olympic gold medal, defeating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain 7-6(3), 7-6 (2).

Djokovic’s achievement made him only the fifth tennis player in history to win an Olympic gold medal and all four Grand Slam titles. The first four were Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams.

Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav, who was recently seen in action during the T20I series against Sri Lanka, which the Men in Blue won 3-0, was among the many who wished the tennis icon for this historic feat.

The Mumbai-born cricketer took to his Instagram stories and wrote:

“This man is on fire! Well fought and so well deserved @djokernole. What a fight by @carlitosalcarazz.”

Suryakumar Yadav pays tribute as Novak Djokovic wins gold medal at Paris Olympic 2024 (Image via Instagram/@surya_14kumar)
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic shared a post on Instagram after winning the gold medal and wrote:

“Dear Serbia, We did it. Love, Nole.”

The 37-year-old had previously won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Suryakumar Yadav off to a great start as full-time Indian T20I captain

Rohit Sharma bid farewell to T20I cricket after guiding India to the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in June. Ahead of the Sri Lanka series, star batter Suryakumar was announced as the new T20I captain for India.

Suryakumar did a brilliant job in his first assignment as India whitewashed Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series. The right-handed batter scored 92 runs in three games and also bowled an important last over in the third T20I to take the match to the Super Over, which the Men in Blue eventually won.

After the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka, Team India will play a three-game T20I series against Bangladesh in early October.