Olympia: Novak Djokovic plays - and attacks the Golden Slam
Novak Djokovic has announced that he will take part in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jul 16, 2021, 07:29 am
Anything else would also have been astonishing. Even if Boris Becker had only just questioned the Olympic start of his former protégé.
"I have booked my flight and will be proud to join the Serbian team in Tokyo," wrote Djokovic on Twitter. Introduced by the hint that he could not disappoint his friend Koujirou and gave a birthday video for the six-year-old boy, a Djokovic fan.
Djokovic had spoken on the Sunday after his Wimbledon victory that he was not entirely sure whether he would participate in the Olympic Games. Although it was his plan to travel to Tokyo the whole time. "At the moment, however, I'm a bit divided. From what I've heard in the past few days, it's a 50:50 decision," he said, alluding to the new external regulations in Tokyo. Due to the corona crisis, it was decided a few days ago not to admit viewers. Family members are also not allowed to come along. Djokovic would also have to do without his stringers. "I have to think about that," he said. So now the decision has been made.
Djokovic and the "Golden Slam"
Djokovic has the great opportunity to write tennis history this year: he has already won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments with the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon; a win at the US Open would mean the "Grand Slam", ie the win of all four majors in one year. Nobody has managed that among the men since Rod Laver in 1969.
An additional victory at the Olympic Games would gild this milestone, it would be the "Golden Slam", which so far only Steffi Graf has achieved in 1988. However, Djokovic could only manage the "Golden Slam" retrospectively, as the US Open will take place after the Olympic Games.
The thought that could have arisen for Djokovic: Does a trip to Tokyo cost too much energy, would he possibly question a fit in New York?
However, Djokovic is already 34 years old and he still lacks Olympic gold as one of the rare things in his collection of titles. Djokovic only won the bronze medal in Beijing in 2008. In addition, the chances of gold are not only brilliant because of its current form, but also because its direct competitors stand out due to their absence: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem - they all canceled participation in Tokyo .