Murray’s great career comes to an end
Tormented Djokovic dreams of gold and worries
01.08.2024, 23:15
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is only two wins away from his first Olympic gold. In the quarterfinals of the singles competition in Paris, the Grand Slam record winner beats the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. But he is again plagued by health problems.
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is only two wins away from his first Olympic gold. In the quarterfinals of the singles competition in Paris, the Grand Slam record winner beat Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6:3, 7:6 (7:5) and thus remained undefeated. On the way to his first gold medal, however, the 37-year-old is again plagued by problems in his right knee. “I’m worried about the condition of the knee. I can’t say exactly what it is,” said Djokovic, who underwent surgery in June for a torn meniscus: “The medical staff will have to look at it and I will hope for the best.”
During the match, the world number two was not disturbed by the pain in his knee, which he had already injured at the French Open, or by a 0-4 deficit in the second set. First, the 37-year-old was treated twice on the court, then he fended off three set points when the score was 3-5. In a great atmosphere on Court Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic converted his first match point after 2 hours and 3 minutes.
In the semifinals on Friday evening, Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev’s conqueror Lorenzo Musetti from Italy. The second duel is between Spanish Wimbledon and French Open winner Carlos Alcaraz and Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Djokovic won bronze in 2008, but in 2021 he lost in the semifinals to eventual Olympic champion Zverev and finished fourth. “Here I would most like Novak to win the gold medal, considering his career,” Zverev said on Thursday.
In Agassi’s footsteps
With an Olympic victory, Djokovic would be only the second player after Andre Agassi to have achieved all the major individual successes: number one in the world rankings, victories in the four Grand Slam tournaments, victory in the ATP Finals, gold at the Olympics. Roger Federer only won Olympic gold in doubles, Rafael Nadal never won the ATP Finals.
Meanwhile, another great tennis career on the Olympic stage is coming to an end: One day after Angelique Kerber’s retirement, Briton Andy Murray also said goodbye. The two-time singles Olympic champion and Dan Evans lost 2:6, 4:6 in the quarterfinals of the doubles competition to Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul from the USA. The 37-year-old Murray, who was the only tennis player to win two gold medals in singles in 2012 and 2016, did not compete as a soloist in Paris. Shortly before the Summer Games, the Scot announced his retirement in Paris.
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