BBC cause outrage after scrapping coverage of Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz midway through Olympic final
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were competing for the gold medal
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The BBC have caused outrage amongst its viewers after coverage of the men's Olympic final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz ended after the first set.
The top two seeds in the men's tournament successfully navigated their way to the final in Paris for a repeat of the Wimbledon final just a few weeks ago.
Alcaraz got the better of Djokovic on that occasion, however the Serbian superstar has looked on top form at Roland Garros.
It set up a pulsating encounter between the two rivals and the first set didn't disappoint.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were competing for the gold medal
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Both players saved multiple break points with a tiebreak needed to separate them both and Djokovic came out on top to take the lead.
However, the BBC cut away from their coverage of the match shortly after the end of the first set.
The decision to stop their tv coverage of the men's tennis final caused anger among viewers.
One viewer moaned: "Djokovic vs Alcaraz final and the bbc have switched over to shooting and gymnastics."
Another complained: "Nothing more frustrating than watching the gold medal playing final of the tennis in the Olympics when it switches to gymnastics after the first set! You would do that if it were a football or rugby final!"
A third frustrated message read: "Cheers BBC, didn’t wanna watch Alcaraz v Djokovic anyway.. shocking coverage."
One other person posted: "A classic set of tennis between Djokovic and Alcaraz for the gold medal and BBC ends footage of it. Unbelievable. Thanks."
Another sarcastically said: "The BBC prioritising Skeet over Djokovic v Alcaraz is quite a decision…"
Novak Djokovic took the first set tiebreak
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An Olympic gold medal is the only major piece of silverware missing from Djokovic's bulging trophy cabinet.
He won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics back in 2008 but lost to Andy Murray in the semi-finals in London and was knocked out in the first round by Juan Martin del Potro in Rio.
Djokovic lost again in the semi-finals in Tokyo three years ago before losing another bronze medal match.
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But he's already guaranteed at least a silver medal by reaching his first Olympic final.
At 37 years old, the Paris Games may well prove to be Djokovic's final Olympics appearance.
However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion hasn't given any indication that he plans to retire from the sport in the immediate future.