According to reports from his native Serbia, Novak Djokovic won’t play doubles at the upcoming Paris Olympics.
The last time the Serbian competed at the Olympic Games was in 2021 in Tokyo, when the 2020 Olympics were moved one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played both singles and mixed doubles but failed to win a medal after losing to Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the singles and also losing in the semi-finals of the mixed doubles.
In singles, the German player went on to win the gold medal, while the Serbian left Japan without any medal around his neck. After that experience, Djokovic will change his approach in 2024.
Serbian outlet Danas reported that the 24-time major winner won’t play doubles at the upcoming Paris Olympics, which will be played at the Roland Garros, and a few reasons could be named for why he made the decision.
One obvious reason is the meniscus surgery he had recently. The 37-year-old will likely want to avoid over-playing a recently operated knee, and that’s why he would probably want to focus only on singles.
Another reason could be a lack of belief that, in tandem with Dusan Lajovic, he could do some serious damage in the doubles event. For Djokovic, the goal was always to win a gold medal for Serbia, and with many specialized doubles teams, it could be difficult to achieve success with Lajovic, who lost 27 of his last 33 doubles matches.
Winning a gold medal at the Olympics is Djokovic’s huge dream, which is why he named the Olympic Games as the priority for this year. However, nobody could have foreseen the knee injury, and it’s a problem, which likely contributed to his decision not to play doubles in the French capital during the 2024 Olympic Games.
