Boris Becker discusses the significance of Paris Olympics for Novak Djokovic

Former world number one Boris Becker believes that Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic will have an extra' 10 per cent’ when he takes the court in the Paris Olympics. The mega-event will begin on July 26 in the capital of France, where thousands of athletes from all over the world will showcase their talent to secure the ultimate prize for their respective countries.

Djokovic is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era in the singles category, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles, the most by any player. Despite all of that, the Belgrade-born star is still hungry to achieve something he has never done before, which is to win an Olympic medal for his country.

Becker, who worked with the former world number one in the past as a coach, was recently quoted in a report where he explained why it means so much to the 37-year-old to do well at the Olympics. The former German star also highlighted that Djokovic made his intentions clear of prioritizing the Olympics over every other event this year and that playing for the pride of his country will give him an extra 10 per cent motivation to play against younger players.

“I don’t know if you understand the importance of Novak Djokovic in Serbia,” said Becker. “He could be President. He could be anything. He is a proper icon in Serbia and so naturally for him, he wants to represent Serbia on a world stage. There is no better place to do that than at the Olympics. Novak was very transparent and open at the beginning of the year that his most important tournament was going to be at the Olympics in Paris. With this in mind, I expect to see a very, very motivated Novak Djokovic at this Olympics. Playing for Serbia will give him the extra 10 per-cent he needs against these great young players that are coming up now.”