Tennis great Novak Djokovic confirmed for Paris Olympics
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Serbia's Novak Djokovic will be attending his fifth Olympics since his first in 2008 when he won a bronze medal.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BELGRADE – Novak Djokovic, who dropped to world No. 3 last week, will compete at the Olympics Games in Paris this summer, the Olympic Committee of Serbia said on June 18.
“Novak Djokovic and Dusan Lajovic have fulfilled the conditions according to ATP ranking and confirmed their participation at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris 2024,” the Serbian committee said on its website.
However, Djokovic has not yet publicly confirmed the announcement.
At the start of June, the 24-time Grand Slam winner withdrew ahead of his French Open quarter-final against Casper Ruud after a scan revealed a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.
Two weeks ago, he confirmed that he had undergone an operation on his knee and that it “went well”, but gave no timeframe for his return.
Djokovic has long said he will prioritise the Olympic Games this summer as he chases an elusive singles gold. In October 2023, he said that winning Olympic gold is one of his main ambitions, while before this season’s clay-court swing he also reiterated his goal.
“The Paris Olympics are very important. The Olympics have always been a priority for me,” the Serb said in April, ahead of the Monte Carlo Masters.
The 37-year-old has played in four Olympic tournaments and won a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008.
He lost the bronze-medal match to Juan Martin del Potro in London in 2012. He lost again to the Argentinian four years later in the first round in Rio de Janeiro.
At the last Games in Tokyo, he failed to win bronze again after losing to Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain. At the same tournament, he also pulled out of the mixed doubles bronze-medal match with a shoulder injury.
As Djokovic takes a back seat to recuperate from surgery, the action continued this week as Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz beat Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 7-5 to launch his title defence at Queen’s Club in London on June 18.
Alcaraz, who lifted his third Grand Slam at the French Open earlier in June and will partner Rafael Nadal in doubles in Paris, was not at his best in his first grass-court match of 2024 but recovered from a mid-match dip to triumph.
The world No. 2, who followed up last season’s victory at Queen’s by winning Wimbledon, will next face Britain’s Jack Draper, who was a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 winner against Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
“The first match in any tournament is never easy but even more difficult here on grass, starting the grass season,” said Alcaraz. “But it is good to have tough situations, having to deal with nerves.” AFP, REUTERS
