‘Always a big wish’ – Novak Djokovic targets winning gold medal at 2024 Paris Olympics
Novak Djokovic is planning to feature at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has set his sights on taking the gold medal, the one achievement he has failed to achieve throughout his otherwise silverware-laden career.
After being denied entry to the Australian and plunging his involvement at all three remaining Grand Slams into doubt, 20-time Slam champion Djokovic is aiming to win a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The World number one was deported from Australia just one day before the ‘Happy Slam’ got underway on the grounds that it would spark anti-vaccination sentiment if he was allowed to compete unvaccinated against Covid-19.
Furthermore, in a tell-all interview with the BBC Djokovic confirmed that he will remain unvaccinated, making him the only unvaccinated player within the ATP top 100. He also revealed he is willing to “sacrifice Slams” should vaccines be made mandatory for entry.
This has put his participation at the French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open and Indian Wells in considerable doubt. The Serbian icon has been named on the Indian Wells entry list but may be refused entry as per American restrictions.
Meanwhile, the Italian undersecretary for sport believes Djokovic “will be able to play” the Rome Masters, whilst the Monte Carlo Masters director has said he will be “welcomed” as long as he meets the relevant requirements.
At last year’s rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Djokovic was knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual gold medallist Alexander Zverev. He then went on to lose in the bronze medal match against Pablo Carreno Busta, leaving him medal-less.
His loss against Zverev, paired with his US Open final defeat to Daniil Medvedev, ended his dreams of winning a Golden Slam and Calendar Slam respectively.
Despite winning 20 Slam titles and breaking a plethora of records the Serbian great only has one Olympic medal to his name, a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Speaking to public broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), Djokovic said “an Olympic medal, especially gold, is always a big wish.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to fight for it in the past. I plan to be in Paris in 2024.
“I rewound my [semi-final] match with [Alexander] Zverev in Tokyo many times, trying to figure out what went wrong.
“I played superbly up to that point, but I did feel I was running on fumes, both mentally and physically.”
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