Until Paris 2024, the Olympics had been almost a curse for Novak Djokovic. The Serbian champion always wanted to win the gold medal for his country, but for various reasons he has always missed this goal in past editions of the Games. The former world number 1 lost a hard-fought semi-final to Rafael Nadal in Beijing 2008, while his first round defeat against Juan Martin del Potro at Rio 2016 had so upset him that he burst into tears as he left the field.

At Tokyo 2020, it seemed that all the conditions were in place for the triumph of Nole. The Belgrade legend was chasing the Calendar Grand Slam that year and had dominated the competition until the semi-final of the Olympic tournament. Ahead of a set and break against Alexander Zverev, Novak had suffered the shocking comeback of his opponent and failed to win the US Open losing to Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Djokovic did not appear in Paris 2024 as the big favorite, having not won an ATP title until then. The Olympic tournament was played on red clay, so everything seemed ready for the victory of young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. The 21-year-old from Murcia – who has just won at the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships – did not manage the pressure well, while the 24-time Grand Slam champion pulled off his best performance of the season with two tiebreaks.

A living legend

Despite winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, Djokovic’s season was less brilliant than usual. The Serbian has not won a single title this year and reached only one Grand Slam final, at the Wimbledon Championships, giving up to Alcaraz with a very clear score.

“The Olympics are only held every four years. I came to these Olympics without having won a title before, I had knee surgery, I’m 37 years old, I beat an opponent who just beat me at Wimbledon… All this makes it so special. The greatest set of emotions in my career, it is difficult to describe with words,” said the former World No.1 in a long interview with RTS.

An Olympic gold arrived after many beatings and burning defeats, a step away from the medals: “I lost to Nadal in a close semi-final in Beijing, then I lost two more semi-finals at the Olympics, I also lost the battles for third place,  these were among the hardest defeats of my career,” he revealed.

When you hear about the pressure on players like Djokovic it seems paradoxical, after the incredible number of trophies won in his career, but at the US Open, the Serbian champion admitted that he had heard: “In view of the final in Paris, I did not miss a set, I beat Nadal at his home – even if he was not at his best, but still beating him in Paris is something huge…”.

“I felt the energy and support from home too, so the ‘additional pressure’ was lower than usual. In New York, for example, I felt that I was not on the court, that I was not well prepared, so I felt more pressure before each match than before the final at the Olympics. Just how I felt. Tennis is an individual sport: if you don’t have a solution in a given day, it’s over, you’ve lost,” he concluded. At this time, Nole would not be participating in the Nitto ATP Finals. The former world number 1 has yet to qualify for Turin, where last year he lifted the trophy beating Carlitos Alcaraz in the semi-final and Jannik Sinner in the final.

Nole’s memories

In the same interview, Novak opened up on Nadal’s dominance in Paris: “Nadal was unbeatable there for a long time — he lost only a few times at Phillipe-Chatrier stadium. Every time you walk on that court there with him, he is the favourite. Even at the Olympics, he had injury trouble, I was in better form, but still, you know it’s the highest mountain to climb. He is the biggest, perhaps the only reason why I don’t have more Roland Garros titles, but I say – every win against him there is worth double.

In 2011, I won my first titles at Wimbledon and US Open. First title is always extra special, I’ve beaten my greatest rival Nadal in the final. In New York, I would single out the win in 2015 over Federer in the final. He perhaps played as great as he ever played on hard courts, he was very aggressive and focused, the crowd was totally on his side. I managed to stay calm and focused and win somehow. That’s probably my most significant trophy in New York, along with the first one.”