By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday March 1, 2023
With the 2024 Paris Olympics just over a year away – yes, really – Novak Djokovic has already set his sights on one of the big prizes that has eluded him. A gold medal in singles.
“I look forward to Olympics,” Djokovic said on Wednesday in Dubai after he improved to 14-0 on the season with a win over Tallon Griekspoor. “I hope that I'll be able to play healthy for next year in Paris Olympic Games. It's going to be played on clay in Roland Garros, so I'm familiar with those grounds.
“I hope, best Olympic result for me will come there.”
Djokovic has secured one bronze medal – at the 2008 Beijing games in singles – and he has lost his last two Olympic semifinals (to Andy Murray at London in 2012 and to Alexander Zverev at Tokyo in 2021). He has never medalled in doubles or mixed doubles either. At the Tokyo games Djokovic pulled out of the bronze medal match in mixed doubles.
A gold in singles would be the perfect way for Djokovic to round out his nearly flawless tennis CV. He’s still hungry to add additional chapters to his legacy – he makes that clear with his tennis and he made it clear in words during his press conference on Wednesday in Dubai.
“I still have lots of desire to break records, to play,” he said. “Every match is different, but that's the beauty of competitive tennis, is that you never know what the next day brings. So you have to figure always out the way by yourself on the court.”