Former ATP player Paul McNamee assessed Novak Djokovic‘s chances at the 2024 Paris Olympics, suggesting that the Serbian may face brutal reality.
McNamee is a huge fan of Djokovic and has spoken very fondly of him over the years. The Australian believes greatly in the Serbian’s capabilities, and the 24-time major winner hasn’t let him down many times.
He’s been dominant up until fairly recently. At the moment, Djokovic is away from the sport due to a knee injury that required surgical intervention, and there is no set date of return.
Some have speculated that he’ll be ready for Wimbledon, but nothing is certain right now, even though he’s set to travel to London, but without a confirmation of his participation.
Still, the Olympic Games are clearly a priority for him, and according to McNamee, while his chances in Paris are decent, he may have a higher chance of succeeding at Wimbledon, especially after being promoted to the world no. 2 spot, which means he will avoid Jannik Sinner prior to the final, and could also avoid Carlos Alcaraz.
“Novak Djokovic, if he plays, will now be seeded 2 at Wimbledon. The chat is that the Olympics is his priority, which given his patriotic fervour, is admirable. However, the reality is if reasonably in shape he would have a better chance at Wimbledon than the Olympics…just saying.”
Still, the 37-year-old is a better player on grass than on clay, and there are far more players who can hurt him on the high-bouncing red dirt than on low-bouncing green grass.
With the way he played this year, he could lose to Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and possibly even more players on clay, but on grass, that list is much shorter, and that’s also why McNamee thinks that his chances at Wimbledon would be much better.
