Novak Djokovic may have faced a shock early exit at the recently concluded US Open 2024 in New York. Despite that, Djokovic will end 2024 on a positive note as he bagged his maiden Olympic gold in Paris. In the past, he lost to Rafael Nadal in Beijing 2008 semi-finals, followed by a loss to Andy Murray in London 2012. Meanwhile, Juan Martin del Potro beat him in Rio 2016, and then Alexander ZVerev in Tokyo 2020.

In an interview with RTS, Djokovic said, “The main reason is the fact that I had the opportunity to represent Serbia again in a world sporting event, the most important. The other reason is my Olympic career: I lost to Nadal in the semifinal in Beijing, then two more semifinals and the battles for third place. These were among the hardest defeats of my career.”

“The Olympics are held only every four years. I arrived at this edition without having won even one title in the season, I had knee surgery, I am 37 years old and I managed to beat an opponent who had just defeated me in Wimbledon. All this makes it special. The greatest emotion of my career, it’s hard to describe in words.

“The Olympics were my main goal. I was very worried after the knee injury I suffered at Roland Garros, but when I managed to play the final at Wimbledon, I felt relieved because I knew I would be ready for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Tennis is not the classic Olympic sport compared to other disciplines. I have always followed the Olympics, especially our Serbian athletes, but I really started to feel their importance and weight after participating for the first time. I will remember this for the rest of my life,” he further added.

At the US Open, Djokovic lost to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the third round, losing 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4. It also turned out to be Djokovic’s earliest defeat in a Grand Slam since the 2017 Australian Open.