Novak Djokovic enters the Olympics full of hope, and reeking of desperation.
After all, this marks his final shot at getting that elusive gold medal, the one outstanding title missing from his trophy cabinet.
2024 has not been kind to the 37-year-old, who is yet to win a title, and he will hope that he can at least renew his relationship with the fans ahead of what is a hugely important event for him.
Novak Djokovic makes predictions about the Olympics crowd
Speaking at his press conference ahead of the Olympics, first Novak Djokovic reacted to news he might play Rafael Nadal. That was the blockbuster story, of course.
However, attention quickly turned to the crowds, especially given the trouble the Serbian has had at recent big events.
Having been something of a pantomime villain throughout his career, as a player who many love to hate, often he thrives in this situation.
But, when he is not on top, the mocking and jeering becomes somewhat hollow.
He has now spoken about the Olympics crowd and what he is expecting from them, claiming: ‘You’re from Brazil, right? [to journalist]. Speaking on the crowd I had one of the nicest experiences I have felt in terms of support at the Rio Olympic Games, although I lost the first round there.
‘It was an incredibly emotional evening for me as the people were giving me great support. I know there was a lot of Brazilian people there but also people from the rest of the world that had travelled. I think that is the beauty of the Olympics, that you have such a multi-national crowd which comes in and it’s lovely to see that many colours of different nations.
‘You’re right, maybe we will not have the diehard tennis fans coming to the matches but people who are sports fans and follow tennis and support. So it should be different, but in a good way. I am looking forward to it.’
Novak Djokovic was not happy at Wimbledon or Roland Garros
Whilst Novak Djokovic might be expecting sunshine and rainbows in Paris, his short memory might want to spark back up what occurred at Roland Garros this very year which caused him to complain.
Airing his frustrations to a few chair umpires throughout the event, he even spoke out about one fan who continuously called out throughout one early-round match: ‘He shouted actually a few words during the rally. He was there in the first row, and he started from the beginning of the match.
‘He went on several times, which was fine, supporting my opponent, but I thought that this was a bit of a hindrance as he was so close and then, as I was about to hit the ball, he was shouting. So that’s what I asked the chair umpire, but he explained that he cannot call that a hindrance.’
Then, upon moving to Wimbledon, he suffered from a similar issue during his win over Holger Rune.
Mishearing the crowd’s chants of ‘Rune’ for boos, he said in his post-match speech: ‘To all the fans that have respect and stayed here tonight, thank you from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it. To all those people who chose to disrespect a player, in this case me, have a gooooooood night. Gooooood night, goooooood night.
‘They were [disrespecting me]. They were. I know they were cheering Rune, but it’s an excuse to boo.
‘Listen, I’ve been on the tour 20 years, I know all the tricks. It’s fine, it’s okay; I focus on the respectful people who pay for their ticket, come tonight and love tennis, and appreciate the players and the effort the players put in. I’ve played in much more hostile environments, trust me, you guys can’t touch me.’
Hopefully he is right about the Olympics, and he can enjoy a harmonious relationship with the Parisian crowd. But, he should not expect to get things all his own way.
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