Novak Djokovic Reveals the Most Heartbreaking Moment of His Career

In spite of having a pile of records, Novak Djokovic has had a fair share of crushing and sometimes devitalizing defeats in his 17-year-old professional tennis career spanning around 1,100 matches.

However, the Serbian was devastated after his loss at the 2016 Olympics. Djokovic recalled getting knocked out in the opening round of the Rio Olympics 2016 was one of the most heartbreaking moments of his career.

Djokovic’s quest for the Olympic gold medal ended abruptly after a straight-sets defeat against Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The defeat bought tears in Djokovic’s eyes as he labeled the loss as one of the toughest in his life.

“I built with myself huge expectation for Olympic Games” – Novak Djokovic

“It was one of the most heartbreaking moments in my career,” Djokovic said on In Dept with Graham Bensinger.

“I built with myself a huge expectation for the Olympic Games in Rio. I was No.1 in the world and won four Slams in a row. Also, I was at the peak of my career in terms of results, in terms of how I play, how I feel. I felt if there was ever a time for me to get the gold medal or fight for a gold medal it was now, ” he noted.

However, the 17-time Grand Slam champion insisted that it was unbearable for him due to his injuries and the huge pressure that he built. But he was satisfied that he could still give a tough fight to Del Potro, taking both the sets to the tie breaks.

“But it was just very heartbreaking because the Olympics is the most important sports manifestation in the history of sports. Also, representing my country at such an event is a huge honor and privilege,” he added.

“Four years later, I think I have more experience mentally and emotionally how to approach that. So I will make changes and corrections to my preparation prior to Tokyo,” Novak concluded.

Read More: “I Don’t Believe in Limits” – Novak Djokovic Sends Out a Stern Warning to Roger Federer

Djokovic was in an imperial form before the coronavirus shutdown. He won three titles this year at the ATP Cup, Australian Open and Dubai Open. He is yet to be defeated in the 2020 season. Djokovic is certainly one of the biggest contenders for the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. It will be interesting to see how he performs at the big-ticket event.