Djokovic: "Olympic defeats were the hardest of my career"

"There are several reasons, but the main one is that I had another chance to represent Serbia at the world's biggest sporting event. The Olympics are the oldest and most important global competition, held every four years. The second reason is my Olympic career: first, I lost to Nadal in the semi-finals in Beijing, and then I lost two more semi-finals at the Games — those defeats were the hardest of my career.

In tennis, we have the opportunity to play in the Grand Slams over and over again, but chances for an Olympic medal are rare. I came to this Olympics without having won a single title this season, following knee surgery. At 37, I defeated an opponent who had recently left me with no chance at Wimbledon. All these circumstances make this victory so special. I experienced an incredible surge of emotions, something that cannot be put into words," Djokovic was quoted as saying by RTS.

On August 5, Djokovic defeated Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the tennis tournament at the 2024 Olympics (7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2). The Serbian player won his first Olympic gold of his career.