Olympia: Boris Becker does not expect Novak Djokovic to start
Boris Becker doubts his former protégé Novak Djokovic's Olympic start.
by SID / tennisnet
last edit: Jul 15, 2021, 02:59 pm
Boris Becker does not expect Grand Slam record champion Novak Djokovic to start in the Olympics. "The Olympics in the summer don't really fit in. I don't think he'll play the Olympics until he lands in Tokyo," said the 53-year-old about his former protégé in the Eurosport podcast "The Yellow of the Ball".
After the Australian Open and the French Open, Djokovic also won Wimbledon and with it the rare chance of the Grand Slam, the victory in all four major tournaments in the same year. In the era of professional tennis, this masterpiece was only achieved by Australian legend Rod Laver in 1969 - Djokovic is only missing the title at the US Open for the perfect season.
"Unique opportunity"
"Anything else cannot and must not be of interest to him, that is a unique opportunity," said Becker. Djokovic could even manage the Golden Slam including Olympic gold, which so far only Steffi Graf has achieved in 1988. But the burden before the US Open from the end of August would be much higher.
Djokovic had recently questioned his start in Tokyo. It was "a 50:50 decision," said the 34-year-old Serb, who caught up with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon with his 20th Grand Slam triumph. Federer and Nadal, like other top players, will be absent from the summer games. For the women, Angelique Kerber canceled her start in Tokyo on Thursday .