Novak Djokovic: A Champion Seeking Olympic Glory
By Emma Djukic, July 31 2024—
The Summer Olympics — a grand stage with a storied history where athletes from around the globe unite to compete in the ultimate test of skill, endurance, and spirit. The Olympics, a tradition dating back to ancient Greece, has seen countless sports join its prestigious roster. Tennis, reintroduced to the games in 1988, has become one of the most anticipated events, drawing the world’s top players to vie for gold. With five categories — men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles — tennis at the Olympics is a spectacle of athletic excellence and national pride.
There are many players to look out for this Olympic cycle, including Taylor Fritz (USA), Bianca Andreescu (Canada) and Rafael Nadal (Spain), among many others. However, there is one player with greater stakes in the game than the rest this Olympic season.
Arguably, Novak Djokovic (Serbia) is one of the best, if not the greatest, tennis player of all time. Naturally, some disagree with this assessment and don’t particularly like the player. His defensive playing style can be less exciting to watch, his on-court behaviours are taken as arrogant or overly emotional and his off-court opinions are not respected by those with differing political views. Unfortunately, Djokovic has also been booed during his matches, most recently during his semi-final match against Lorenzo Musetti at Wimbledon. But whether you love him or hate him, Djokovic, by far, has the most impressive list of accomplishments in the sport. He has won seven men’s singles titles at Wimbledon alone. His ability to weather criticism and come out on top shows the mental fortitude deserving of a five-time Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award winner, an honor bestowed upon athletes who have demonstrated supreme athletic performance and exceptional sportsmanship. This prestigious award, often referred to as the ‘Oscars of Sports’, recognizes the highest level of achievement and dedication in the sports world, further cementing Djokovic’s legacy as a resilient and dominant force in tennis.
In tennis, some key metrics for determining dominance include Grand Slam singles titles, weeks ranked as World No. 1, and ATP Masters 1000 titles. Novak Djokovic has cemented his legacy with an impressive 23 Grand Slam titles, a record-breaking 389 weeks as World No. 1, and 39 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Djokovic has also completed a career Grand Slam, winning each of the four major tournaments at least once: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. He is the only player in the Open Era—the period since 1968 when professional players were allowed to compete in Grand Slam tournaments—to hold all four major titles simultaneously on three different surfaces (hard court, clay, and grass). Djokovic also holds the record for the most ATP Tour finals won, with over 60 titles, and is known for his remarkable consistency and resilience in crucial matches. His ability to perform under pressure and his adaptability to various playing conditions only further show his unparalleled dominance in the sport.
And yet, despite this gilded list of successes, Djokovic has never won an Olympic gold medal. In the four Olympic games that he has taken part in, Djokovic has only one Olympic win under his belt; Bronze in Beijing 2008. In the subsequent years, Djokovic always faced extremely talented players in the early matches and was knocked out in the single-elimination style tournament before making it far enough to medal. In London 2012, he lost to Andy Murray (England) in the singles semifinals. In Rio 2016, Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) beat him in the first round of singles. Most recently, Djokovic lost to Alexander Zverev (Germany) in the singles semifinals in Tokyo 2020, who went on to win the Gold.
Djokivic is 38 years old, which is 11 years older than the average age of retirement of men’s tennis players at 27. That is not to say that Djokovic is losing his edge, with 2023 being one of his best seasons on record, but this might be one of the last chances he has to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Djokovic has expressed that winning gold is one of his goals for the rest of the season. “The Olympic Games and US Open are the two big goals for the rest of the year for me really. I’m hoping I can be at my best on those two tournaments.” Said in an interview with EuroSport.
So what are his chances to close out that trophy cabinet this year? Well, the competition is fierce. Djokovic lost in the Wimbledon finals to Carlos Alcaraz (Spain). The pair were in the Wimbledon finals last year as well, but the margin of victory for the Spaniard increased significantly this year; Alcaraz having won in straight sets this year in comparison to the 4 hours and 42-minute match in 2023 when Alcaraz won in the fifth set. The Spainard will be making an appearance in Paris for the games.
The current World No. 1 player, Jannik Sinner (Italy), who surpassed Djokovic at the French Open after the Serbian withdrew from the tournament due to an injury, is another top contender to look out for. Daniil Medvedev (Russia) will compete as a neutral athlete at the Paris Olympics due to the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe. He is a consistent performer and US Open champion, having beaten Djokovic in the 2021 US Open Final in straight sets. It should be noted, however, that Medvedev has not bested him since then. And finally, the gold medalist from the previous Olympics in the Men’s singles tournament, Alexander Zverev (Germany) is a force to be reckoned with. He suffered an injury to his ankle during the 2022 French Open semifinal match against Rafael Nadal, and although he has returned to play, it has had an impact on his performance nonetheless.
Djokovic remains optimistic about his chances at the upcoming games. “If I didn’t think [a gold medal] was possible, I probably wouldn’t be playing the Olympic Games,” he said. “The Olympic Games are the oldest and most prestigious sporting event in the history of sport. It’s a huge honour to represent Serbia.” There are those who believe that he is too old to continue playing at such a high level, but Djokovic is not one of those people. “My love for this sport is strong and the desire to compete at the highest level is what keeps me going.”
Like all high-level sports, injuries are not uncommon and feared by athletes for the impact they can have on careers. Djokovic tore the meniscus in his right knee during his match against Francisco Cerundolo at the 2024 French Open in June. He still managed to win the match, before choosing to withdraw from the tournament altogether and underwent a very successful surgery, which had him back on his feet again in time for Wimbledon where he played in the finals. Although the injury was not a hindrance on the English Court, the question remains whether the injury will impact his play against the best in the world at the Olympics.
The tournament brackets are not yet available, so we don’t know who is playing who just yet. However, it will undoubtedly be an Olympics to remember. Rafael Nadal is playing too, another legend of the sport, simply adding to the incredible games we are set to watch.
Statistically speaking, Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player of all time. There is no doubt that there would be something poetic about Djokovic closing out his career with a coveted Olympic Gold Medal, but it remains to be seen whether he will be able to overcome his challenges and achieve this prestigious goal.
For more information about the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, click here.