When it seemed he was going through the worst of his career, Novak Djokovic silenced his detractors and won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The 24-time Grand Slam champion has achieved a legendary feat, which has shocked athletes in other sports.
The former world number 1 won the gold medal in Paris without losing a single set, an achievement that almost no one expected at 37. Novak was clearly at a disadvantage against 4-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz in the final, as the Spaniard is much younger and had beaten him sharply in the Wimbledon Championships final just weeks earlier.
After winning, the 37-year-old from Belgrade burst into tears and ran to embrace his family. Djokovic has been celebrating a lot in the last few days and he has enjoyed one of the most special victories of his entire career. The Serbian champion decided to skip the Masters 1000 in Montreal and Cincinnati, as he needed to recharge his batteries after the efforts of recent weeks. Djokovic will return directly to the US Open, where he will have to defend his title won last year. Nole will try to win his 25th Major, which would allow her to break another record by beating Margaret Court.
Nole is still competitive
Many fans and insiders wonder if Serbian legend Novak Djokovic will still be hungry after winning the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. During the show ‘Sans Filet’ on Winamax TV, top analyst Benoit Maylin opened up on Nole’s future: “Djokovic will be all the more dangerous because he has nothing to prove, he has this thirst for competition in his blood, he is not 37 years old, he is 10 years younger, and he still has three goals: win a 25th Grand Slam, beat Connors’ record 108 titles (109 in reality), he’s at 99, and why not win a second gold medal in Los Angeles at 41. It seems impossible but this word does not exist in the vocabulary of Novak Djokovic.”
The Serbian champion decided not to play in Cincinnati, where he won the title last year beating Carlos Alcaraz in an epic final.
Speaking on Tennis Channel, former doubles champion and top analyst Pam Shriver spoke about Djokovic: “Actually in the middle of the gold medal match, when I saw the level and what he put into it, the emotions afterwards, one of the things I thought of was, ‘Nope, we’re not gonna see him again until US Open’. I think it makes total sense, he’s saving his body, he’s managing it. Good decision. Even though it was the most memorable two out of three [set] match last year – that marathon final against Carlos Alcaraz.”
Many people believe that Nole’s career is almost over, even though the Serbian legend has not ruled out playing until Los Angeles 2028. After his victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics, many legends and former players have called Djokovic the greatest tennis player ever.
Former ATP ace Yevgeny Kafelnikov paid tribute to Nole on social media: “There’s no doubt that Novak is the greatest tennis player of all time, that’s for sure. You can’t put him on the same level as Michael Jordan… I don’t think so, because I grew up idolising the greatest athlete of all time, which was Michael Jordan. All I wanted to do was watch him play live. To me, he’s still number one, but Novak is definitely in the top three greatest athletes of all time, without a doubt – all the accomplishments, the records he’s broken, the titles he’s won.”
Update on Djokovic’s schedule
Due to his decision to skip Cincinnati, the 24-time Grand Slam champion could give up second place in the ATP rankings to Alcaraz if the Spaniard reaches at least the quarterfinals in Ohio.
During a press conference in Montreal this week, World No.1 Jannik Sinner reflected on Djokovic’s triumph in Paris: “Of course I understand his reaction, but I think he understands it better than anyone. He tried so hard to get that medal, which was the last thing he had to do. He knew it in his mind. He has been close to it on several occasions, winning bronze or fourth place on several occasions.
This year was his year, and it was a very beautiful scene to see how much that meant something to him. There’s also Carlos’ reaction after. It’s the same reaction, but in reverse. We work for this kind of thing, for success. It’s very nice to see.” The final of the Paris Olympics was perhaps the best match of the year so far.
