Novak Djokovic seeks the one thing missing from his resume: an Olympic gold medal
Credit to Author: D’Arcy Maine| Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2024 18:02:40 EST
LESS THAN TWO hours after his devastating loss in the Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic was already laser-focused on the rest of the season.
Djokovic, 37, had just been defeated by Carlos Alcaraz 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4), his dreams for a record-breaking 25th major title postponed. But it was clear he was trying to move on as quickly as he could when he spoke to reporters at his news conference later that afternoon.
“Well, the Olympic Games and US Open are the two big goals for the rest of the year for me really,” Djokovic said. “I’m hoping I can be at my best [for] those two tournaments. That’s all I can say right now.”
Djokovic’s answer should hardly come as a surprise considering his virtually unparalleled career and that he’s the defending champion at the US Open. But he has never quite had the same success at the Olympics. He enters his fifth Games with just one medal — a singles bronze in 2008.
So now, two weeks after his disappointing finish at Wimbledon, Djokovic is back in Paris for what might be his final Games, with his eyes set on the one thing that has eluded him throughout his historic career: Olympic gold.
Djokovic opened play at Roland Garros on Saturday with a convincing 6-0, 6-1 victory over Matthew Ebden. He will next play familiar foe Rafael Nadal in the second round in hopes of getting one step closer to his dream.
“[It’s so special to be] part of the oldest sports event in the history of sport,” Djokovic told the International Tennis Federation in May. “Of course winning a gold medal or winning any medal for my country is a great wish and desire. It is one of [my] greatest priorities and goals for [this] season, there is no secret about that.”
THERE’S LITTLE ELSE Djokovic hasn’t achieved in tennis.
Since turning professional in 2003, Djokovic has won the Australian Open 10 times (the most by any player in the Open era), and is a seven-time Wimbledon champion, four-time US Open champion and three-time French Open champion. He is tied with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles in the sport’s history, and he has the most in the Open era.
Djokovic has won 98 career singles titles (and one in doubles) and has held the world No. 1 ranking for a combined 428 weeks — another record. Djokovic even led Serbia to its first and only Davis Cup title in Belgrade in 2010, something that he later called “the best feeling I ever had in my life as a tennis player.”
But while he’s always spoken about how much it means to him to be able to represent his country and how much he enjoys the experience of the Olympic Games, he’s simply never been able to translate his typical dominance to sport’s biggest stage.
During his Olympic debut in 2008 in Beijing, Djokovic was the No. 3 seed, behind Roger Federer and Nadal. Playing in a best-of-three-sets format — a marked difference than the best-of-five-sets used by men in Grand Slams — Djokovic rolled through the draw until Nadal, the eventual gold medalist, defeated him in the semifinals 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. In the bronze medal match, Djokovic topped James Blake 6-3, 7-6 (4). Djokovic, who had won his first major title earlier that season in Melbourne, couldn’t hide his excitement after the match.
“[I’m] very happy. I mean, to win any medal in the Olympics is a huge achievement for any athlete I think,” Djokovic said. “Not many of the athletes get a chance to win a medal. But for me, this bronze, which I won here, shines like a gold because I think I’ve played pretty good tennis all tournament.”
Djokovic also played doubles alongside Nenad Zimonjic, but the pair lost in the first round.
In 2012, Djokovic, then a five-time Slam champion, was named Serbia’s flag-bearer for the opening ceremony. He described it as “an out-of-body experience” and a “huge pleasure and responsibility and honor.” The competition was held at Wimbledon, where he had won the title the year before, but Djokovic lost to eventual gold medalist Andy Murray in the semifinals. In the bronze-medal match he fell to Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets. Djokovic lost again in the first round of doubles, this time with Viktor Troicki.
Four years later on the hard court in Rio, Djokovic was the top seed (and now a 12-time major champion) but he was stunned by Del Potro in the first round. Djokovic and Zimonjic lost in the second round of doubles.
But no loss stung harder than in 2021. Competing in the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games, Djokovic arrived after winning all three of the year’s Slams. He was on a quest to join just Steffi Graf in 1988 as the only tennis players in history to achieve the “Golden Slam” — all four major titles and an Olympic singles gold in the same season.
But in the semifinals — yet again — Djokovic had his dreams dashed by eventual gold medalist Alexander Zverev. He had easily taken the first set 6-1 but then won just four games in the final two sets. Things got even worse in the bronze medal match against Pablo Carreno Busta as Djokovic struggled to control his emotions, and abused his racket on multiple occasions. He lost the match 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3, and then withdrew from the mixed doubles bronze-medal match (with Nina Stojanovic), slated to begin later that same day, citing a left shoulder injury. He had played seven matches in four days across draws and it seemed it had all caught up to him.
“I played under medicines, unbelievable pain and exhaustion,” Djokovic said.
He never was able to get his season fully back on track and lost in the final of the US Open weeks later to Daniil Medvedev, thwarting his adjusted goal of the calendar Grand Slam.
“[It] was also [an] emotionally very demanding period for me in the last five, six months,” Djokovic said after the loss. “Slams and Olympics … Everything was coming together for me here and kind of accumulating all the emotions that I’ve been through. Unfortunately I didn’t make it in the final step.”
DJOKOVIC NOW RETURNS to the Olympics in a radically different position than he was in three years ago. Not only has he yet to win a Slam this season, but he’s yet to win a title of any kind. It’s his worst start to a season since 2006. While he said he has no plans to retire, he knows time is running out. He will be 41 when the 2028 Olympics begin.
And returning to Roland Garros, the site of the French Open and the Olympic competition, could also prove challenging. He injured his knee during the French Open in June and was forced to withdraw ahead of his quarterfinal match. He underwent surgery for a torn medial meniscus in his right knee on June 5, initially leaving his status for Wimbledon in doubt.
Many speculated he would skip the grass-court tournament to focus on his rehabilitation, and continue training on clay ahead of the Olympics. But Djokovic arrived at the All England Club a week before the main draw began. After several successful and pain-free practices, he played and was impressive throughout his run, showing few signs of discomfort or hampered movement.
“If someone told me I would play [in the] Wimbledon final three, four weeks ago, I would take it for sure,” he said.
Djokovic and his peers have had to quickly readjust to the red clay after spending the past month on grass. The surfaces couldn’t be more different — the clay is significantly slower than the grass — and the way players move on the court is as well. It will be tricky for even those with no physical ailments or injuries. Perhaps in part because of this, Djokovic will only be playing in singles at these Games.
But while Djokovic seemed tired and slightly dejected after the Wimbledon final, he was not deterred.
“Let’s see how physically and mentally I’m going to feel. Hopefully I can find the right tennis because I’m going to need all I have and more to go to the final of the Olympic Games.”