‘Cyborg’ Novak Djokovic hailed by ATP rival after Olympic triumph
Novak Djokovic has been described as a “cyborg” by Italian star Matteo Berrettini after the Serbian’s epic Olympic triumph earlier this month.
World No 2 Djokovic downed Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling final to strike gold at Paris 2024, winning his first Olympic title at the fifth time of asking.
The Serbian had just one bronze medal to his name previously, from his Olympic debut in Beijing, with two fourth-placed finishes – and a shock opening-round defeat at Rio 2016.
An Olympic title adds another title to Djokovic’s historic collection, which has seen him win 24 Grand Slam singles titles and spend a staggering 428 weeks as the world No 1.
What makes Djokovic’s recent form even more remarkable is the significant injury he suffered at Roland Garros.
He looked set to miss both Wimbledon and the Olympics due to a meniscus problem but rallied post-surgery to reach the final at both tournaments – losing to Alcaraz at SW19, but defeating him in Paris.
And, speaking at a live Served with Andy Roddick event at the Cincinnati Open, Berrettini – who lost to Djokovic in the 2021 Wimbledon final – hailed his ATP rival.
“Talking about Novak and what he has achieved, it’s incredible I get goosebumps,” said Berrettini.
“I don’t know how he does it. He’s a cyborg because at 37 he’s still playing at this level.
“Personally, I don’t know if I’m still going to play at 37, given my injury history, I don’t know.”
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Berrettini has had his fair share of injury struggles recently, but the 28-year-old has been in resurgent form recently.
He captured the ATP 250 title in Marrakesh back in April and then reached the Stuttgart final in June, before back-to-back titles at the Swiss Open and Austrian Open at the end of July.
However, he was beaten by Holger Rune in three sets in the opening round in Cincinnati on Wednesday.
Djokovic, meanwhile, will not be back in action until the US Open.
After his historic gold medal in Paris, the 37-year-old has chosen to withdraw from Cincinnati – where he was the defending champion – and from last week’s Canadian Open in Montreal.
The Serbian started the season slowly but his recent form shows he will be a significant contender to win what would be a record-equalling fifth title in New York at the end of the summer.
Djokovic is the defending US Open champion, having beaten Daniil Medvedev for his fourth title at the event twelve months ago.
He is currently set to be the second seed in the draw, behind world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
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