
It has been the dominant topic of conversation and a feat that will go down in tennis history books. The proclamation of Novak Djokovic as the champion of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has sparked unanimous recognition of the Serbian's figure, who secured the final piece at 37 years of age. Along the way, he defeated rivals who couldn't match his intelligence, experience, and tennis skills... and some of them have even dared to comment on the Serbian's milestone, as it is the talk of the circuit.
The ATP confirmed this upon arrival at the ATP Montreal 2024, a tournament where Djokovic won't be present. However, many top names from the circuit who were involved in some way in Nole's Olympic gold will be there: they were part of his journey, watched it on TV, talked to him beforehand... Stefanos Tsitsipas, for instance, fell victim to Novak in his path to the Olympic final, and he had no trouble praising Djokovic's competitive mindset and willpower.
"Novak envisioned that gold medal. After being number one and winning many Grand Slams, this was one of the few things missing in his achievements, and he put in a lot of effort to achieve it", stated the Greek, while making it clear that "it was disappointing" to lose in his match against the Serbian in the quarterfinals. "I believe I was playing well and had a huge advantage in the second set. I saw good opportunities in that particular match. However, I can say that I gave it my all and lost to the champion. Winning a medal would have been a dream for me."
One who did not compete in Paris was Holger Rune, one of the young players with whom Djokovic has a good relationship. It was inevitable that the Dane would speak about Nole's Olympic gold: "If there is one person who deserves it, that is Novak. He has completed tennis, taking it to another level. He is simply the best. He greatly inspires me and is also a very nice person", said the Dane, who aims to get back to winning ways in Canada.
DJOKOVIC... FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HIS LATEST ADVERSARY IN THE GAMES
Nole's most recent disappointment in an event that always haunted him was none other than Pablo Carreño. Three years after that fateful showdown with Novak for the bronze, Carreño is now fighting to return to the elite and seek victories to climb the rankings after a serious elbow injury. Perhaps no one is better positioned to speak about the final between Novak and his good friend Carlos Alcaraz, as well as to recall that past match on Japanese soil.
"The final was at an incredible level. Carlos came out, perhaps, a bit nervous initially, but that's normal; for Nole, on the other hand, it was his last chance to get that gold. It was a spectacle for our sport, they are probably the two best in the world, so it's a pleasure to watch them", stated Carreño, who highlighted as a key factor for his confidence in that match against Nole the fact that the Serbian had been suffering defeats in the individual and mixed doubles semifinals.
"For him, that was very, very tough mentally. Perhaps I took advantage of that, but when I started the match, I thought I should do my best and see what happens. I ended up playing one of the best matches of my professional career."
This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, "Djokovic ha completado el tenis"