31 July 2024 | Matt Trollope

The best six months of Alicia Molik’s career spanned late 2004 and early 2005.

Towards the end of that sparkling period, the Aussie star reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Australian Open 2005 – something she discussed with us earlier this month – before peaking at world No.8.

And it began with her unforgettable run at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

Molik joined this week’s episode of The Sit-Down podcast and, 20 years on, recalled a tournament that concluded with her winning a singles bronze medal.

Since tennis returned to the Summer Games in 1988, she remains Australia’s only individual tennis medallist.

The worth of a medal to a #tennis player. Priceless 🫶

Talking #Olympics with Aussie @AliciaMolik – 20 years on from winning bronze in singles at the Athens 2004 Games 🎧 https://t.co/Q6r3CarVU1#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/DHkaYVx6ka

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) July 29, 2024

“It’s all still really fresh in my mind, and I think the memory is so vivid, because it was just such a real moment, a turning point, a real achievement within my career,” said Molik, who beat reigning Roland Garros champion Anastasia Myskina in the bronze medal play-off.

LISTEN: The Sit-Down with Alicia Molik

“It’s probably the proudest moment of my whole career. Winning bronze means you get to take something home. You have a chance to step up on the podium. You still have a chance to represent your country by being in that third place and being alongside complete champions of the sport.

“You’ve had a second bite at the cherry; you’ve made the most of that. So it’s a winning feeling – you feel like you’ve won a Grand Slam.

“The Grand Slams are the pinnacle of tennis, (and) my bronze medal was the pinnacle I think of my career.”

Molik opened the tennis event at Athens by upsetting world No.6 Elena Dementieva. She then beat Ai Sugiyama in the quarterfinals, guaranteeing a chance to play for a medal.

She fell in the semifinals to world No.2 Amelie Mauresmo – the eventual silver medallist who lost the gold medal match to Justine Henin – but secured bronze after another top-10 win, this time over third-ranked Myskina.

The disappointment of the Mauresmo loss almost instantly evaporated when she was presented with another chance at a medal, which she grabbed with a 6-3 6-4 win.

“When I was presented with the medal around my neck, and had the olive leaves and the wreath that they placed over our heads, it was a real ‘pinch-me’ moment,” Molik reflected.

“That actually didn’t feel real at the time, it was something I never thought I would ever experience. Because you watch it as a kid, and it feels so far away from reality. You see the Olympics on a screen every couple of years.

“And so the dream became a reality.

“I’ve never cried because of joy, but I did cry that match, and it’s never happened to me before my whole career… I’d felt so proud of myself that I actually was in tears, and I’d given everything.

“For me, bronze was like gold. It felt that I’d achieved everything in my life, and tennis … I was absolutely over the moon.”