Novak Djokovic has enjoyed a well-deserved rest after winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The Serbian champion played his best tennis on the iconic Philippe Chatrier and got an extraordinary victory that shocked the whole world.
After the French Open and Wimbledon Championships, Carlos Alcaraz was considered a great favourite to win the gold medal in Paris. In an epic final, Novak made the difference in both tiebreaks and showed the world why he is one of the best athletes of the modern era.
The former world number 1 was having a very complicated season before his triumph in Paris, he had not won an ATP title and seemed to have lost motivation. The atmosphere of the Olympics transformed him, allowing him to break a sort of curse that had accompanied him throughout his career.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has chosen not to play in the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters 1000 to rest for the US Open, which will be his main objective in the second half of the season. The 37-year-old from Belgrade will try to defend his title in 2023, when he defeated American Ben Shelton in the semifinals and Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final. According to the bookmakers, Nole will start slightly behind Alcaraz and Sinner.
Nole Djokovic’s funny video
After a few days of vacation, Nole Djokovic returned to train in Montenegro and was spotted without knee protection. The Serbian – who had been injured during the French Open – had undergone surgery just before Wimbledon. Despite a precarious condition, the former world number 1 had reached the final at Church Road losing sharply to Carlitos Alcaraz. Through his TikTok account, Novak has created a funny video where he shows his fans how to prepare his luggage and equipment for the upcoming trip to New York.
Nole on his TikTok account
“Get ready for US Open”
Idemo Nole ❤️🐐 pic.twitter.com/DR0oL33E6n
— ᖴᖇᗩᑎI (@frani2312) August 20, 2024
During the latest edition of her podcast, tennis legend and top analyst Rennae Stubbs talked about Djokovic: “He joins an exclusive club of gold medal champions in singles because Rafa Nadal won in singles and doubles, Steffi [Graf] of course did what we will probably never see again — winning all four Grand Slams and then winning a gold medal. But Novak joins Andre Agassi, the likes of these players. Roger Federer is not even on that list. Although Roger won a gold medal in doubles, he never did this in singles so that’s something that I am sure Novak is really happy that he has got over Roger Federer.
I feel like the entire year Novak Djokovic was telling us his goal this year is to get a gold medal. And then to go out there and not have a great year in terms of Novak standard and get to the Olympics, through some of those tough matches on the way to the gold medal and then to actually get the gold medal, do that thing you’ve been telling people the whole year, ‘Hey this is the number one thing I want to accomplish’, was an amazing thing to see.”
The Serbian legend is on fire
The former world number 1 is not going to stop playing tennis in the near future, he would also like to participate in the Olympics in Los Angeles four years from now. The 24-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 has never lost his motivation and always found new goals to continue being competitive at the highest level.
Recently, Holger Rune and Pablo Carreno Busta paid tribute to Nole after his win in Paris. “I think if there’s one person that deserves it so much, it’s Novak. He’s completed tennis in a way,” Rune told ATPTour.com. “He’s taking tennis to another level. He’s just the greatest. I take massive inspiration from him and I think he’s a very nice guy as well. Novak Djokovic is 37 now and winning the gold medal, I think it shows a little bit on the level he is producing. I think it’s completely incredible. Hopefully we’ll still see him a few more years on the Tour so we can compete against him.”
The Spaniard praised the Serbian legend: “I think that they played unbelievable tennis. It’s true that Carlos probably at the beginning was a little bit nervous, but that’s normal. For Novak also, it probably was his last chance to win the gold medal. I think it was a big spectacle for tennis. Carlos and Novak are probably the best in this moment and we enjoy watching them.”
Djokovic and Alcaraz could face off again at the 2024 US Open, in what would be one of the most exciting matches of the entire tournament.