Djokovic’s Rocky Road to Olympic Gold: It is difficult to locate a situation in which Novak Djokovic trails Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer in terms of statistics. His 24 Grand Slams are tied with Margaret Court for the most by any player overall and the most by any male player in tennis history. He turned 37 in May of this year and is still rated second in the world, behind only 22-year-old Jannik Sinner, the current No. 1 in the world, and 21-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who is currently ranked third.
But Djokovic lacks the one item that Federer, Nadal, and Nadal possess: the Olympic gold medal. In 2008, Nadal won the singles championship in the same Games when Federer won gold in the men’s doubles. In the men’s doubles competition at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Nadal went on to capture yet another gold medal. In contrast, Federer lost to Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss final at the 2012 London Olympics, where he had won silver in the men’s singles competition.
But Djokovic lacks the one item that Federer, Nadal, and Nadal possess: the Olympic gold medal. In 2008, Nadal won the singles championship in the same Games when Federer won gold in the men’s doubles. In the men’s doubles competition at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Nadal went on to capture yet another gold medal. In contrast, Federer lost to Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss final at the 2012 London Olympics, where he had won silver in the men’s singles competition.
2008 Beijing Olympics: Djokovic competed in singles and doubles; mixed doubles has not yet returned to the Games. This was Djokovic’s first Olympics, as well as the only one in which he took home a medal. In the singles draw, he was ranked third, behind Rafael Nadal and top seed Roger Federer. He breezed through the opening three rounds until dropping his first set against Gael Monfils of France in the semifinals. Even yet, Djokovic overcame the early deficit to get to the semifinals, where he was defeated by Nadal. In the bronze medal match, he met James Blake of the USA, who had already defeated Federer in the quarterfinals, and won 6-3, 7-4. When Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic paired up for doubles, they were eliminated in the first round themselves.
In the men’s singles bracket at the 2012 London Olympics, Djokovic was ranked second behind Federer. Early in his opening match, Italy’s Fabio Fognini put him to the test, forcing the first set into a tiebreaker and winning it. The following two sets were won by Djokovic. In his next three rounds, he faced Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Leyton Hewitt, and Andy Roddick. In the semifinals, he defeated everyone but was unable to overcome home favourite Andy Murray. In the gold medal match, Murray defeated Federer, and Djokovic was defeated by Juan Martin Del Potro. Once more, Djokovic lost in the first round of the men’s doubles competition, this time to Viktor Troicki.
Rio Olympics 2016: Djokovic was soaring that year. In that same year, he had won both the French Open and the Australian Open. In addition, he had also won the US Open and Wimbledon championships the year before, making him the only player to have won all four Grand Slams at the same time. This completed his career Grand Slam and made him the first player to do it since Rod Laver in 1969. However, Djokovic’s success did not continue to the Olympics, as he lost the singles match in straight sets against Juan Martín del Potro. In the second round of the doubles, he was defeated.
2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021): Although Djokovic was five years older than he was in 2016, he may have entered the games with considerably improved shape. Rumours of the Serb perhaps pulling off a historic Golden Slam that year—winning the Olympic gold medal and all four Major titles in one calendar year—were persistent. He was so dominant in the first four rounds that it seemed inevitable that Djokovic would secure his first gold medal. He defeated Alexander Zverev 6-1 in the opening set of the semifinal. Zverev then struck back, taking the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. Incredibly, Djokovic subsequently lost to Pablo Carreno Busta in the bronze medal match, losing his composure and abusing his racket multiple times. Along Tennis Nina Stojanovic, Djokovic has advanced to the bronze medal match in mixed doubles. But following the defeat in the bronze medal match for men’s singles, he withdrew from the contest, claiming a left shoulder injury.
