NOVAK Djokovic has described his success in winning the Paris 2024 Olympic gold medal as his greatest success and said he may compete at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics to defend his medal even though he will be 41 by then.
Djokovic, competing in his fifth Olympics, beat Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/2) in a thrilling final at Roland Garros to add an Olympic gold medal to his 24 Grand Slam wins.
“This is probably the biggest sporting success I have ever experienced and the most special feeling,” Djkovic said, quoted Monday (5/8).
“I think carrying the flag at the opening ceremony of my country at the 2012 Olympics was the best feeling an athlete could have.
to date.”
“Now, at 37 years old and facing a 21-year-old who is probably the best player in the world right now, who won Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back, I can say that this is probably the biggest sporting success I have ever had,” the Serb continued.
Victory in the Olympic final saw Djokovic join Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams as
tennis player who won all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic singles gold medal, also known as the Golden Slam.
Read also: Despite Injury, Novak Djokovic Advances to the Semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics
Before beating Alcaraz, Djokovic’s best performance at the Olympics came in 2008 in Beijing when he won bronze, losing three times in the semifinals.
Now he wants to keep playing and has not ruled out trying to win back-to-back gold medals in Los Angeles in four years.
“I want to play in Los Angeles. I enjoyed playing for my country in the Olympics and in the Davis Cup,” said Djokovic.
Read also: Novak Djokovic Advances to Quarterfinals of 2024 Paris Olympics
Djokovic is the oldest singles champion since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988 and he saw off Alcaraz’s bid to add gold to the French Open and Wimbledon titles he already has this summer.
The title he just won was the 99th of his career and his first in 2024 after a difficult season when Jannik Sinner replaced him as Australian Open champion and eventually took the world number one spot.
Alcaraz then dominated the French Open before failing to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles.
Read also: Novak Djokovic Hopes He Can Still Face Rafael Nadal in the Future
The knee injury Djokovic suffered at the French Open required surgery and his participation in the Olympic semi-finals appeared to be in jeopardy when the injury appeared to worsen.
“I knew that this could be my last chance to win a gold medal,” Djokovic said.
“I did everything I could to prepare myself for this period. The injury distracted me a bit.
But coming into the Olympics, I felt like a different player in terms of the way I moved, the way I played.”
“On one hand, the big loss to Alcaraz at Wimbledon probably worked in my favour because I knew I couldn’t play any worse.
from that,” he concluded. (Ant/Z-1)
#Novak #Djokovic #Determined #Defend #Gold #Medal #Los #Angeles #Olympics
