Novak Djokovic's Olympic gold medal press conference gatecrashed after 'unrealistic' goal
Novak Djokovic finally won an Olympic gold medal.
Novak Djokovic made a bold declaration after winning his first gold medal at the Olympic Games.
It was likely the last chance for the 37-year-old to get his hands on the one accolade that always evaded him, as he will be 41 during LA 2028.
But he later admitted he wanted to be in California for the next Olympics before Serbia's tennis captain Viktor Troicki crashed his press conference, laughing at Djokovic's strong statement.
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Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz in a tense, high-quality gold medal match on Sunday, coming through 7-6(3) 7-6(2). The world No. 2 immediately burst into tears and he fell to the floor before rushing over to celebrate with his family.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion had been forced to wait a long time to finally get his hands on Serbia's first gold medal. Before this year, he had a 0/3 losing record in the Olympics semi-finals and only managed to win bronze once on his debut at Beijing 2008.
Time was running out for him to win gold. And ahead of the final, his former coach Marian Vajda claimed that, if he lost, Djokovic would go to LA 2028 for one more shot at it. When Vajda's comments were put to Djokovic, he joked that he wanted to play there anyway.
"Look, I still, I want to play in Los Angeles. I enjoy playing for my country in Olympic Games particularly and Davis Cup. It’s something that, being part of a team," he started, before being cut off by the arrival of Troicki, who briefly popped his head around the doorway.
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Former world No. 12 Troicki started laughing at Djokovic and the 37-year-old added: "He’s making fun of my calendar goals, playing in Los Angeles. I don’t know if he’s laughing because he thinks it’s unrealistic or he’s like, okay, another four years with this guy."
But Djokovic's hopes of being at the 2028 Games appear to be a joke. While he doesn't want to stop playing, he admitted that Paris felt like his last chance at Olympic glory. "Olympic Games come every four years so the opportunity to win gold for your country is very rare and I knew the fact that I’m 37 and I don’t know how many more chances I would have," he explained.
While it might have been extra pressure to have one final opportunity, Djokovic thrived off of it. He added: "I was ready for this tournament and I didn’t drop a set [in the] entire tournament. I knew already in the first opening two rounds the way I was playing that this is my chance. If it’s ever going to be, it’s going to be now.
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"When I qualified for the finals I felt a big relief because that’s the hurdle I wasn’t able to surpass in the past. I did celebrate like I won the tournament but of course I wanted gold and I knew that it’s going to take the highest mountain to climb at the moment, probably the highest one playing Alcaraz who is in incredible form."
Djokovic did climb the mountain, saving all eight break points that he faced in the final. And he was rewarded with the "most special feeling" in his career.
"I thought that 2012 opening ceremony in London, carrying the flag for my country at the opening ceremony, opening the Olympic Games is the best feeling that an athlete could have. Until today. This kind of supersedes everything that I imagined, that I hoped that I could experience and that I could feel," he said.
"Being on that court with Serbian flag raising and singing Serban anthem and carrying gold around my neck is just, I think nothing can beat that in terms of professional sport."
