Paris 2024: Novak Djokovic harbours an Olympic dream

James Richardson 12 Dec 2022 7:32 PM

Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals

Novak Djokovic remains on course to become Tennis’ most decorated man despite falling behind Rafael Nadal in 2022 after his controversial withdrawal from the Australian Open.

Djokovic might have little anxiety regarding his ability to win more Grand Slams.

However, he is desperate to win an Olympic gold medal which could go a long way towards sealing his status as the Greatest of all Time.

Djokovic has underperformed at previous games, a source of great frustration for him, as he is eager to give Serbia and Olympic gold medal.

The man who has spent more weeks at number one on the ATP Rankings than anyone else in history admits to being haunted by his failures at the Olympic Games.

Djokovic has entered the Olympic Games tournament four times with his best result coming in his first attempt in Beijing, when he claimed bronze.

He was beaten by Alexander Zverev in the Tokyo Semi-finals before losing the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreño Busta.

Djokovic feels that he was ill-prepared for the Tokyo Games, which came at the beginning of the hard court season.

“An Olympic medal, especially gold, is always a big wish,” Djokovic, who will be 36 at the time of the Paris Games, told Radio Television of Serbia.

“I rewound my match with Zverev in Tokyo many times, trying to figure out what went wrong,” he said. “I played superbly up to that point, but I did feel I was running on fumes, both mentally and physically.”

The Paris Olympics tennis tournament will be staged at the iconic Roland Garros Stadium, which will ensure 2024 is a huge year for both the venue and clay court tennis.

Djokovic has just two Roland Garros victories to his name, but it is unclear if his nemesis on the red stuff, Rafael Nadal, will still be at it in 2024.

Even if Nadal isn’t at it, Djokovic has to contend with a new generation of players who love to mix it on clay.

A few of those toppled Djokovic in 2022, with new World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz sounding a huge warning when he beat Nadal and Djokovic back-to-back in Madrid.

French Open finalist Casper Ruud has been tipped to become a king of clay, while Danish prospect Holger Rune is another who enjoys clay and owns a big Masters final win over Djokovic.

Djokovic is no slouch on clay though and his win in Rome shows that he could certainly go deep, if not all the way to gold on the surface in 2024 if he maintains his level.

If he finds himself in Paris, Djokovic is likely to find the big challenge come from the new generation of players as he chases his holy grail.