At this moment Paris must be bustling with more excitement than ever, as it hosts the World’s best in its lap. In the city of love, athletes are excited, nervous yet somewhat confident, as they propose to the Olympics gold after years of relationship with hard work, perseverance, luck and never giving up. However, in the end, only one would get a typical love story! But whose would be fulfilled when it comes to tennis? Can Novak Djokovic’s excitement get him past all the challenges, particularly when the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, himself stands in his way?

After spending over 2 decades on the tennis circuit, everyone would know Djokovic’s name. Though it’s altogether a different matter whether they say it out of love or not. But there would always be some respect, as his journey in the circuit has been an incredible one with 24 Grand Slams and an Olympic bronze. However, in Paris, the Serbian ace is ready to convert his bronze into gold. “I am very excited and have high expectations for the Olympics. I feel good respect and I feel more ready than I was before Wimbledon.”- he opened up in an interview before the Olympics.

Wimbledon was a test of time, as Djokovic played just 20 days after his knee surgery. While everyone thought that he could not get past the initial rounds, the Serb made it to the finals before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets. However, as the new generation begins to take charge as they add more wins to their record, they have become favorites to win it. And the No. 1 seed at the Olympics is not on the favorite list. “The fact that I am not a favorite in the odds is a motivation for me.” 

He has won 24 Grand Slams, but the Olympics seems to be a challenging tournament for Djokovic from the beginning as he has yet to find a way to crack the code. Sadly, there is no cheat code, except preparation. He said,”The Olympic Games have always been a big challenge for me. I focused all the preparation on this tournament.”

Could this Olympics give Djokovic the moment he has eagerly hunted for since the beginning of his career? Only time will tell, but one thing every tennis fan knows is the fact that when Djokovic is in his top form, he is unbeatable! And this might be his last Olympics as well, implying that this might be the last chance not only for Nadal and Andy Murray at the Olympics but also for the Serbian ace!

“Coming to an end”: Novak Djokovic shares a bizarre statement in the face of Nadal’s retirement

Both Nadal and Murray have announced that this would be their last Olympics. Rightly so, as both the tennis greats have battled injury for long. And as health fails them in keeping up with the fast and furious Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the veterans are ready to put their racquets down. Certainly, Djokovic is aware of the circumstances of the Big 4 era. He said, “I am aware that an era with Nadal and Murray’s retirements after the Games is ending.” He said, “I am aware that an era with Nadal and Murray’s retirements after the Games is ending.”

However, his next words were quite shocking. As he said, “I think my career is also coming to an end, but I believe there are and there will be tennis players who can carry the weight of being the best.” Where did this come from? Djokovic would never choose to go under the knife unless absolutely necessary. As Roger Federer once said, when you go to the surgical path, it’s the beginning of  the end. Is this the same with Djokovic? Maybe, maybe not, but age might play a factor, as his match against Alcaraz was quite shocking because only Nadal gave him such a defeat in straight sets back around the 2020s.

“It would be exciting to play against Nadal in the second round.”- He added. And why not? It would be like two friends talking on the court after a long time!