Despite years of being at the top of his game, there was still a missing piece in Novak Djokovic’s trophy cabinet before the start of this season. The Serb had won 24 Grand Slam titles but was yet to taste the biggest success at the Olympic Games. As a result, he set his biggest goal for this year – winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. And he achieved it with a bang, defeating Carlos Alcaraz to clinch the gold medal in Paris in what could be his final appearance at the quadrennial event. Nearly three months after that, the sweet memories of that victory still resonate with Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic is currently in China where he’s playing in the Shanghai Masters. During an interview there, he was asked if he watched the highlights from his Olympic match against Alcaraz over and over again. While the Serb denied watching the entire match again, he did admit that he enjoyed watching his celebrations.

Djokovic said, “I watched the celebrations the day after, I think it was, plus, and I think it was in Trocadéro, where they made the path of a champion, or whatever they call it, a celebration of all the Olympic winners… I was very lucky also to have my wife and my kids there, you know, to experience it live, because it is the highlight of my career. You know, most intense emotions I every felt on the court were after winning a gold medal.”

Back in 2008, Djokovic won the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympic Games but a gold medal eluded him until his win this year. By clinching the top prize this year, the Serb also fulfilled his biggest goal of the 2024 season.

Talking about his participation in Shanghai Masters, Djokovic has made his way to Shanghai for the first time in five years. As a result, he received a warm reception from the fans and was left emotional.

Novak Djokovic on his return to Shanghai Masters: ‘I missed China’

The Serb has fond memories of playing in Shanghai and has been one of the tournament’s most successful players, winning four titles here. However, he last played here way back in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Now that he has returned after a gap of five years, he got a heartwarming welcome.

After his second-round win against Alex Michelsen, the Serb lauded the fans and revealed why he loves playing in this tournament. The 24-time Grand Slam champion said, “Today on the court was marvelous. To experience the introduction and the support and love from Chinese fans in this way is exactly the reason why I came. I really missed being in Shanghai, I missed China. Five years is way too long for the kind of support that I’m getting here, so I want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart for coming out already in the first match, filling up the stadium, and creating a great atmosphere.”

In a tight match against Michelsen, Djokovic saved a couple of set points to prevail 7-6 (3), 7-6 (9). He will take on the winner of the match between Stan Wawrinka and Flavio Cobolli next. It’ll be interesting to see if Djokovic lifts the title in Shanghai once again.