Novak Djokovic is searching for his first ever Olympic gold after being defeated in the semi-finals in Tokyo.
It has been a whirlwind few months for Novak Djokovic, with the Serb being forced onto the operating table after a knee injury sustained at the French Open.
The odds were stacked against him to make the Olympic games, however in traditional Djokovic style, he defied all expectations to recover and reach the final of Wimbledon, eventually losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
The 37-year-old has always made his Olympic ambitions very clear, with a gold medal the only real omission from his already record-breaking trophy cabinet.
A teary-eyed departure from Tokyo after his semi-final defeat to Alexander Zverev after having led by a set and a break was difficult to see, with Djokovic visibly distraught.
Novak Djokovic confirms if he will play doubles at the Olympics
With his heart firmly set on Olympic glory, the world was waiting to see if Djokovic might double his chances and go for gold in the doubles as well as the singles.
With the games officially starting on Friday, and the tennis commencing just a day later, it was today confirmed that he would be shifting his focus entirely on to the singles competition.
Spanish tennis journalist, Jose Moron shared on X: “Novak Djokovic wants to preserve as much energy as possible for the Paris 2024 singles and, therefore, has decided NOT to play the doubles.
“He will play all his medal options in the singles.”
With Serbia having historically fared well in team events such as the Davis Cup, some may have expected Djokovic to forge a competitive run in the two doubles events.
However, with the weight the Serb is clearly placing on that elusive singles gold medal, only time will tell if he can secure the piece of silverware he’s so desperately craving.
Can Novak Djokovic finally sail to Olympic glory?
With top seed Jannik Sinner having to delay his trip to Paris, Djokovic and Alcaraz come in the strong favorites.
The Spaniard’s supreme form over the last two months has guided him to the ‘Channel Slam’ and he looks raring to go at Roland Garros again.
Djokovic looked rather weary in his Wimbledon final with Alcaraz condemning him to his second heaviest defeat in a major final, with the Serb winning just 10 games.
Having sustained such a serious knee injury on the clay in June, his movement on the grass looked relatively mobile despite the Serb donning some heavy knee strapping.
Djokovic has made a career out of defying expectations and battling through multiple hurdles, and with just one last push necessary, the history books will wait to see if the Serb can pull off the impossible.
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