Novak Djokovic’s hunt for the first gold medal at the Olympics of his career is still ongoing. The Serbian defeated Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in the third round to book a quarterfinal clash with Greece’s Stefano Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas defeated Argentina’s Sebastian Baez earlier today. This victory comes after the Serbian overcame long-term tennis rival Rafael Nadal in the second round of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Stefano Tsitsipas has been having a rejuvenated season at the Olympics. The Greek began the tournament against Zizou Bergs in the first round. The Greek overcame a resurgent performance from the Belgian to win the match. Next, he took on the UK’s Danny Evans and defeated him 6-1, 6-2.
Novak Djokovic Continues Hunt For Olympic Gold
Novak Djokovic appeared in the Olympics for the first time in 2008. Since then, he has competed in the tournament five times, playing 20 matches. Being one of eight men to win a career Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic is looking to end his career joining Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal as the only male singles players to win a career Golden Slam. He’d also join Andre Agassi as the only two male singles players to win a career Super Slam. Djokovic said this after his match:
“It is a great honor to represent my country at the Olympics. It is an incredible sporting event. We play Roland Garros every year in this stadium, but the crowd, the atmosphere, the colors, everything is different, in a good way.
“The Roland Garros crowd is very knowledgeable and passionate about tennis but the Olympic crowd is something different. People from all over the world come to support their athletes, and I think there are so many different nations and nationalities, and it is beautiful to see. We are all celebrating sport and I am glad to still stay in the tournament.”
Against Dominik Koepfer, Novak Djokovic had led by a break in the first set but ended up squandering the lead in the closing stages of the set. However, the Serbian held firm to overcome the German by winning all but one of his 20 first serve points. Playing in the legendary Court Philippe-Chatrier arena of the French Open, the joy was evident in Djokovic after he took the match on his first match point.
Novak Djokovic will clash with an old foe, Stefano Tsitsipas, in the quarterfinals. The Serbian has defeated his Greek counterpart in each of their last 10 encounters, leading 11-2 on their head-to-head record. They are set to face off tomorrow.
Stefano Tsitsipas Keeps Olympics Dream Alive
Coming into the 2024 Paris Olympics, Stefano Tsitsipas said he’s always had the dream of winning an Olympics gold medal. This has to do with his Greek heritage with the inaugural Olympics tournament held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. He said this after his victory:
“Greece and the (Olympic) Games for sure fits like bread and butter together. It is something that has been a dream of mine since I started playing tennis.
“Since I first picked up a tennis racket, I always wanted to be an athlete that gets to participate in something like that. And of course, to be aiming for a medal is something extraordinary.
“So my dream keeps on evolving, keeps on existing, and my path towards that is slowly building up. For me, the best redemption is walking away from the Games with a medal.”
The first time the Greek No. 1 competed in the Olympics was in 2020. He entered the tournament as the third seed behind Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev. Stefano Tsitsipas’ hunt for the Olympic dream was ended in the third round by France’s Ugo Humbert.
Returning in 2024 to the arena, Stefano Tsitsipas has had a better showing than the first time. This comes off the back of a shaky season so far where the farthest he’s gone in his last five tournaments is the semifinal of the Swiss Open in Gstaad. He’s ranked 12th in the ATP rankings.
Tsitsipas didn’t allow this to deter him as he played Sebastian Baez today. The Greek took the first set 7-5 but turned the heat up on the Argentine in the second set. He led his Argentine opponent 5-0 in the first set before Baez succeeded in eventually getting himself on the board. Stefano eventually served out the set to win the match 7-5, 6-1.
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