Young ATP ace explains why Novak Djokovic is his idol

The Olympic tennis tournament in Paris ended with the victory of Novak DjokovicThe Serbian champion also achieved his last big dream of his legendary career by Carlos Alcaraz in the final and winning the gold medal.

An extraordinary result for Nole in the last Olympic Games of his career, useful to certify his status as the best tennis player ever. The former world number 1 had recently undergone knee surgery and had still not won a title in 2024, but he played a perfect tournament without losing a single set in the weeks.

The level against Alcaraz in the final surprised everyone, especially the young Spaniard who expected to win after dominating the Serb in the Wimbledon final. Carlitos was less good than Novak at controlling nerves and emotionsand paid taxes in the two tiebreaks.

Both chose to Montreal Masters 1000 to regain their energy for the US openwhich will take place in New York at the end of August. Their only tournament in preparation for the last Slam of the season would be the Masters 1000 in Cincinnatiwhere they played a memorable final last year (won by Djokovic in the decisive tiebreak).

Alcaraz, Djokovic and Sinner will be the big favorites at Flushing Meadows, in a tournament that has often provided surprises over the past 10-15 years. Novak Djokovic’s performance at the Olympic Games in Paris has had a remarkable impact worldwide. The 37-year-old from Belgrade has once again shown that he has more than all other players.

Flavio Cobolli pays tribute to Djokovic

During a recent interview in Montreal, the young Italian ace said Flavio Cobolli paid tribute to Nole: “I often say that to myself. I always had Nole as my reference playerand I try to imitate him in that. It’s not just his technique that I like, I like his mentality. I also try to take an example from these little things, from what he says at the conference. Because he explained how he positively transformed the support of the audience for his opponent, I applied this method, repeated it several times and I have to say that it works.”

The 24-time Grand Slam champion was going through one of the worst moments of his career before the Paris Olympics, having not won a single title this year and being dominated in the Wimbledon final.

In the latest edition of his podcast, the former American star tells Andy Roddick reflected on the importance of an Olympic gold medal: “It’s not even worth a conversation. I think it’s everyone’s individual (choice). I think when you ask people, is this (as) important as a Grand Slam, and I certainly felt that pressure in 2004, do you value that? Years later I don’t think so. It’s not even worth a conversation. I would have definitely won a Wimbledon title instead, 100%. No chance (of the Olympics being on par with a Grand Slam), like it’s not even worth a conversation. If you put me in this chair now and you say, ‘Hey, you could have an Olympic gold medal or you could have a Wimbledon title?’ It’s not even up for discussion for me. The point is that it’s different for everyone.”

Nole is unstoppable

The former world number 1 has said several times that winning the gold medal at the Olympics was almost an obsession for him. Novak wanted to make his country proud, which will dedicate a museum to him. After the terrible disappointments of Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, it seemed unlikely that Djokovic would realize his dream. The Serb has shocked everyone againwho wins on its less pleasant surface.

In conversation with tennis majors, Goran Ivanisevic commented on Djokovic’s triumph: “Alcaraz knew he was going to be punished for a shorter ball, and he made a few mistakes. It’s not easy to do what Novak did, but again, he wanted it so badly. NOvak did not appear in the Wimbledon finalbut here you could see that if they had stayed on the field for another five hours, the outcome would have been the same.

Novak flew, Novak danced. People forgot that this was his first Olympic final, he felt that this was it, that he had to seize this opportunity. Although, considering how crazy he is, I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw him in Los Angeles in 2028. We will be watching him for a long time, they can’t get rid of him! In my opinion, he is one of the best athletes of all time.Whether he’s in the top five, top three or top two is a matter of opinion, but he’s there.”