Djokovic has eyes only for Golden Slam in Tokyo

TOKYO • Novak Djokovic has learnt from his previous Olympic heartbreaks and will not allow himself to be distracted from his quest to become the first tennis male player to seal the "Golden Slam".

German Steffi Graf is the only player to have won all four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold medal, a feat she achieved in 1988, but the 34-year-old Serb is three-fifths of the way there.

He needs to win in Tokyo and then the US Open next month to match the German great's feat.

The Olympics, however, have not proved the best hunting ground for Djokovic in his previous three appearances, with only a single bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Games to show.

"I know it's going to be boring for you guys to hear me say that I will take things very slowly and cautiously and focus on the next challenge," the record 20-time Grand Slam winner said ahead of today's first-round match against Bolivia's Hugo Dellien.

They will be meeting for the first time at the Ariake Tennis Park.

"But this is the kind of approach that I really need to have because in the past, I wasn't probably truly experiencing that approach, and that has backfired on me.

"I started to feel that there were lot of distractions around that was influencing my performance."

As the reigning Wimbledon, Australian and French Open champion, world No. 1 Djokovic is the overwhelming favourite, not just against Dellien, who is ranked 138 places below him, but to sweep all before him en route to his maiden men's singles gold medal.

Some of the sport's biggest names, including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have skipped the Games, while defending champion Andy Murray is not the same player he was in Rio de Janeiro five years ago, having been beset by hip problems since.

On his attempt to make history, Djokovic said: "I know that there is a lot of things on the line, and know there's history on the line.

"I'm privileged and motivated to be in this position. I've worked very hard to be here. Let's talk about history if everything goes great here after I finish with the tournament.

"I feel great. Physically, mentally, I'm ready to perform at my best. I have arguably had the best Grand Slam season in my sport so far. I could not have had a better preparation in the lead-up to the Olympic Games than I have this year."

But he will not take those competing here lightly. World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, world No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No. 5 Alexander Zverev all have the capability to ruin his title bid, particularly as the trio favour hard courts - the surface used in Tokyo.

"I have not experienced too many big tournaments in the past 15 years without Roger and Rafa playing," Djokovic said.

"So it's a little bit strange to be honest because I'm used to seeing at least one of them. But still some of the best players in the world are here... the guys who are top six, seven in the world and they are the biggest candidates for winning medals."

In the women's draw, Japan's Naomi Osaka will return to the spotlight tomorrow, following a request from Tokyo 2020 organisers to push back her first-round match by a day.

The world No. 2 kicks off her Olympic campaign as the home favourite in what will be her first taste of action in two months after pulling out of the French Open in late May over mental health issues.

Last year's French Open champion Iga Swiatek will instead play the first marquee women's match of the Games against Mona Barthel of Germany today.

REUTERS