Novak Djokovic made Olympics U-turn after tennis legend's four-word snub
A gold medal is one thing that has alluded Novak Djokovic thus far, which he's looking to rectify at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Novak Djokovic is gunning for gold at the Paris Olympics - contradicting a four-word claim he made last year. As the record men’s Grand Slam winner with 24 singles titles, there’s little the Serbian hasn’t won in his legendary tennis career.
The Summer Games, however, haven’t been conquered by Djokovic. He won bronze in Beijing in 2008 – but that remains his only medal. At London 2012, he was defeated by eventual winner Andy Murray in the semi-finals before Juan Martín del Potro beat him to claim the final podium position.
Four years later in Rio, Djokovic was shockingly eliminated in the first round, again by Del Potro. And then at Tokyo 2020, he missed out on another bronze after losing to gold medallist Alexander Zverev and Pablo Carreño Busta. Despite that, he didn’t mention the Olympics as he snubbed the Games when asked to name the one tournament he still wants to win.
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“I’ve done it all,” Djokovic bluntly told the ATP Tour in January 2023, before breaking into laughter and adding: “I’m sorry, very humble. Let’s go again. Well actually, it’s fine.” He’s since changed his tune, speaking at length about his desire to finally win gold in Paris in recent months.
Back in March, he explained part of the reason why it hasn’t happened for him so far, telling reporters in Turin: "Of course, the Olympics are a huge desire of mine – it’s a unique opportunity, I have a bronze from Beijing 2008.
“A lot of things are different at the Olympics – you can’t bring your whole team, some of the routines you usually have are limited, there are a lot of athletes from other sports, which gives you the energy on one hand, but it drains you on the other. All those things you mentioned – I want it all, why not, and we’ll see where it ends.”
The following month, Djokovic went so far as to say being at his peak for the Olympics was his main goal for the year. “The Paris Olympics are very important - the Olympics have always been a priority for me,” he said ahead of the Monte Carlo Masters.
“But in the last three or four Olympics, it’s not been possible for me to reach the later stages. The situation is a bit different now. We are playing our first Olympics on clay. I want to be ready physically and mentally.
"I want to reach my peak for Paris - that's where I want to play my best tennis. Anything else is a bonus, so let's see what happens."
His participation at Roland-Garros was thrown into doubt when he had to pull out of the French Open there last month with a torn meniscus. But after reaching the Wimbledon final on his return, losing to Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic reassured fans his eyes are still firmly on the prize.
"I still have intentions to play Olympic Games [and] hopefully have a chance to fight for a medal for my country," he said. "[The Olympics are] on a completely different surface obviously [and I'm] going back to the place where I got injured some weeks ago. Let's see."
