Djokovic appears more relaxed in Paris Olympics, says Viktor Troicki

Former Serbian tennis player Viktor Troicki believes that Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovicv is more relaxed in the Paris Olympics compared to how he was in Tokyo. The 37-year-old is regarded as the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.

Despite achieving nearly everything on the tennis court, Djokovic’s cabinet is missing one major achievement, which is to win an Olympic gold medal, something he has been very vocal about as well. The Belgrade-born star is on the hunt one more time to achieve what is missing in his career, and he has already booked his place in the quarterfinal after beating Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in the round of 16 in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3.

Troicki, who has been a friend of Djokovic and was with him during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, while talking to Clay, opened up about how the former world number one dealt with the heartbreak a few years back. He also stated that, in his opinion, Djokovic looks more relaxed than he did a few years back when he was under a lot of pressure.  

“Physically and mentally, Novak was destroyed [after defeat in Tokyo],” he said. “Physically he couldn’t (do) anymore. Emotionally he got killed after the match. He was really close in Tokyo, you know, making it to the final stages and probably going for the gold, but it didn’t happen in the end. I don’t think this time he feels such big pressure like he did in Tokyo. Here it’s different because during all this year, and also last year, he was talking about Olympics, and that the gold medal was his biggest goal. He’s a different player here. He’s really motivated and you can see the difference on the court now. I think here in Paris he’s more relaxed, more focused on the things he needs to do.”

Djokovic is now set to face Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last-eight clash who booked his place in the quarterfinal after beating Sebastian Baez in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-1. It will be the 14th meeting between the two in professional tennis. In the previous 13 meetings, Djokovic has a clear edge with 11 wins and suffered just two defeats.