Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is hoping to ride the momentum from his recent victory at the Paris Olympic Games into the US Open, as the final Grand Slam event of the season kicks off on Monday.
The former World No.1 defeated Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling final to clinch the old medal that has eluded him his entire career. As the defending champion at Flushing Meadows, the 37-year old is hoping to retain his title and win his first Major trophy of the 2024 season.
Djokovic shed light on his emotions following his Olympic victory
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has not played a match since defeating Alcaraz at the Paris Olympic Games a few weeks ago. Djokovic opted to skip the Masters events in Canada and Cincinnati, and comes into the US Open with no matches played on the US hard courts.
"I hope to never recover from that [Olympic triumph], because it's the best set of feelings that I ever had as an athlete,” Djokovic told Eurosport. “On the court but also off, when we went back to celebrate with our people, all of the Serbian Olympians that managed to win a medal.
"It was a very unique moment for me. I'll never forget it and I'll try to use it as a great confidence boost for what's coming up in New York in the next few weeks.
"I hope to never recover from that [Olympic triumph], because it's the best set of feelings that I ever had as an athlete,” Djokovic told Eurosport. “On the court but also off, when we went back to celebrate with our people, all of the Serbian Olympians that managed to win a medal.
"It was a very unique moment for me. I'll never forget it and I'll try to use it as a great confidence boost for what's coming up in New York in the next few weeks.
"I haven't had much time to recover or much time to train. I tried to get the most out of the few weeks that I had. I had more than all the other guys that played the tournaments.
"But that was a conscious decision that I made not to have any lead-up tournaments to the US Open because I just felt that the calendar is too congested this year with the Olympics. I needed my break, short but sweet, celebration, family quality time and then of course started my training and trying to build my body, build my form for the start of the tournament."
Djokovic begins his US Open title defense against Radu Albot on Monday night.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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