Novak Djokovic remains hopeful of an Olympic gold medal

Novak Djokovic is undoubtedly one of the best tennis players in the world. But the Olympic gold medal is the last major achievement he has not yet achieved during his career. The last chance to change that will probably come in Paris in 2024.

Novak Djokovic has won almost everything during his tennis career. Since 2008 he has won twenty Grand Slam tournaments and five times the prestigious Tournament of Champions. He has also added a Davis Cup triumph in 2010. He has now spent 332 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings, the most of any player. He will add more weeks in the near future.

The only thing missing from his achievements is a gold medal at the Olympics. His best ranking to date is third place in Beijing 2008. Back then, Djokovic defeated James Blake of the USA in the battle for bronze.

All indications were that this would change this year in Tokyo. The thirty-four-year-old Serbian tennis player has been in great form, as evidenced by his triumphs at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

Novak Djokovic was the clear favourite to win the gold medal, helped by the absence of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem or Denis Shapovalov.

In the opening four duels, the Serb fulfilled his role flawlessly and reached the semi-finals without losing a single set. But then he ran into Alexander Zverev, who was surprisingly beyond his strength. In the following bronze medal match, he was not even able to beat Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta and therefore left Japan without a medal.

“It was a real privilege to represent Serbia at the Olympics. I know in my heart that I gave it my all to fight for a medal. I look forward to coming back stronger in Paris,” the world number one said on her Instagram.

It looks like 2024 will be Novak Djokovic’s last chance to complete his collection. After all, he will be 41 years old at the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.

Source: Livesport