Novak Djokovic has won the last ‘title’ he was missing: the gold medal at the Olympics. The 24-time Grand Slam champion won the gold medal in Paris beating Carlos Alcaraz in a truly memorable final, which certified Nole’s status as one of the best athletes of the modern era.
The former world number 1 has shocked the world once again, redeeming his clear defeat against the Spaniard at the Wimbledon Championships. The 21-year-old from Murcia was clearly surprised by the level of play of the Serbian, who played the best match of his season just when he needed it more
After such a joy, fans and experts wonder what motivation Djokovic will find to continue playing at the highest level. The 37-year-old from Belgrade has announced that he will not play in the Cincinnati Masters 1000, having already missed out on the Montreal Masters 1000 this week.
Novak Djokovic will return to the 2024 US Open, where he will defend last year’s title by beating Daniil Medvedev in the final. Despite winning everything during his legendary career, Djokovic is still hungry and does not want to retire for the moment. During the press conference after the triumph at the Paris Olympics, Novak shocked everyone when he said that he would like to participate in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics as well.
Djokovic is not human
It is no coincidence that 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has expressed his best tennis in the final of the Paris Olympics, despite a much younger opponent than him.
Speaking with the UK TV, Mark Petchey discussed Nole’s triumph at the Paris Olympics: “He’s not just a phenomenal tennis player – which of course he is, because you can’t be great without being a phenomenal player. You can’t just be a mental giant, you can’t just be a physical beast, you also have to be an extraordinary tennis player. Personally, I think what Novak did at the Olympics is his greatest achievement. I know that “repeat” is the hardest thing in sport, it’s not easy – it shows her character. But coming back five times to the Games, wanting to win, wanting to do everything in sport, he climbed all the summits.”
Before the Olympics, Novak Djokovic was playing one of the worst seasons of his career and his decline seemed to have begun. The former world number 1 had not won a title in 2024 before winning in Paris, he had been injured during the French Open and his level was much lower than that of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Novak’s feat was even more remarkable when you consider that he had a knee surgery just weeks earlier. In a recent interview with the ATP website, Hubert Hurkacz – who suffered an injury similar to Djokovic’s during Wimbledon – praised the Serbian legend: “Definitely just really inspiring what he did, especially winning the gold medal. I also texted Novak. He was really, really supportive and helpful as well and it just was a different situation, it was a difficult situation trying to make the decision.
At the end, I knew I needed to have surgery. I knew I couldn’t really move on the court, so the Olympics was unfortunately out of the window. I was dreaming of playing there for the whole year, but I just knew that it just was not going to be possible. The wounds were still not healed. I just couldn’t be going there. It was too much of a risk and also I couldn’t move on the court, so it was just not going to work.”
Nole is relaxing
After the Wimbledon Championships final, Novak had admitted that he felt inferior to Alcaraz and Sinner at this stage of his career but wanted to work hard to reduce the gap. No one imagined that the Serbian ace would succeed in a legendary feat a few weeks later. The Serbian legend was very excited when he won the gold medal: “I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed with everything I’m feeling right now. Feeling different emotions. Too proud. Too happy. Thrilled with the possibility to win a gold for the first time in my career for my country. Arguably the biggest success I had. I won probably everything there is to win in my individual career.”
Djokovic will try to be ready for the US Open, the last Slam of the season, which will take place in New York at the end of August. The former world number 1 will try to defend last year’s title, but it won’t be easy against rivals like Alcaraz, Sinner, Medvedev and Zverev.
Rafael Nadal marks 2024 with a terrible record, after 22 years
The Spanish champion rewrites history, but this time with a record that he did not want to have…
2024 was a rather complicated season for Rafael Nadal. Back at the beginning of the year after a year of absence due to the serious injury suffered at the Australian Open 2023, the Spanish champion was once again stopped by a rather serious physical problem again in Australia.
Back on clay-courts, Rafa had some good moments, but also many lows, due to a physical preparation severely conditioned by the physical problems that have afflicted him in the last 18 months. His last match in singles was the 2nd round of Paris Olympics against Novak Djokovic, in what was perhaps the last official challenge between the two rivals.
Nadal has had a rather unusual season, essentially focusing on two major goals: Roland Garros and the 2024 Paris Olympics. These major events have determined the Spanish player’s choices in terms of programming, who has also had to deal with the weight of tiredness due to his inevitably advancing age.
Despite all the effort he has put in on the courts this year, Nadal will not be able to avoid a very negative record, which will not however stain his glorious career: Nadal will end the season without even winning a match in one of the four Slam tournaments. An almost unthinkable data to associate with a great champion like the Spaniard, which has not even happened since 2002. Considering that at that age he was just making his debut on the Tour, this was the first year ever that Nadal has not achieved a success in a match in a Major competition.
At the Australian Open, the 38-year-old suffered a muscle strain after the ATP in Brisbane and was ultimately forced to withdraw. At Roland Garros, however, he showed up prepared and very determined: unfortunately, the draw immediately put him in front of the German Alexander Zverev, seeded number 4 and among the favorites on the eve, and he suffered an early defeat.
Nadal then confirmed his absence from Wimbledon, giving priority to preparation for the Olympics. While the announcement was made in the last few days that he will not participate in the US Open either. Nadal’s short future as a professional tennis player is not yet clear and defined. At the end of Paris, the Spaniard declared that he will indulge in a period of reflection to analyze all the last moments and his next ambitions. The only certainty – currently – is his presence at the Laver Cup 2024, the event in which his Swiss friend Roger Federer decided to say goodbye to tennis forever.
Leave a Reply