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“Anything Can Happen”: Novak Djokovic Wary of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Others at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Published 07/20/2021, 5:30 PM EDT

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At the helm of turning the 2021 season into a memorable one for the tennis world to remember, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic entered the Tokyo Olympics being a heavy favorite to win the gold medal.

Since the start of the year, Djokovic has been an unstoppable force for next-gen players like Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev. Even Rafael Nadal couldn’t go past the Serb at the French Open this year.

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Watch this story: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and Others winning medals of glory at Olympic Games

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Novak Djokovic is on the brink of achieving the Golden Slam

Even at Wimbledon, Djokovic proved that he deserved to be at the top as he went on to clinch his 20th grand slam title. With the Tokyo Olympics coming up, the Serb can move one step closer to becoming the first man to achieve the Golden Slam in a calendar year.

However, there are still competitive players in the singles draw for Novak in Tokyo. The likes of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsistsipas, Andrey Rublev, etc., can become a cause of upset for the Serb if they get going.

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Also, all the matches to be played in Tokyo will have best of three sets unlike the slams. Surely, the next-gen players will place their bets on this fact to try and stop Djokovic.

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The fact that some of the youngsters had success over the Serb in best-of-three matches might also be a contributing factor to build their confidence.

As Djokovic enters Tokyo beaming with confidence, he is wary of the youngsters’ threat and his past-record at the Olympics. Djokovic’s last two Olympic outings ended on a defeat to one player – Juan Martin del Potro.

The world number one grabbed the bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. While Djokovic’s chances of making another Olympics event are still pretty healthy(he will be 37 in 2024), Tokyo gives a perfect opportunity for Novak to win the esteemed gold medal.

“There are also a lot of elite player fighting for medals” – Djokovic on Tokyo Olympics chances

Speaking about his special connection to Olympics, the 20-time grand slam champion remained vigilant of the next-gen threat.

Although some players from the top are not coming, there are also a lot of elite players fighting for medals: (Daniil) Medvedev, (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, and (Alexander) Zverev are among the favorites”, said the Serb.

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Also, Djokovic revealed how he will approach the Tokyo Olympics and treat it as another tournament in order to stay focused on tennis.

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Furthermore, Olympics are specific in terms of pressure, expectations and emotions – everything is different compared to other tournaments, I felt it on my own skin in the past. Therefore, I will try to approach the Olympics in the same way that I approach other tournaments”,  Djokovic concluded.

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Going by the way with which he is solving problems on-court with tremendous determination, it appears as if there is no stopping the Serb from winning the gold medal.

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Written by:

Sagar Ashtakoula

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Sagar Ashtakoula is a tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He has been following the sport since 2007. Having developed an interest in creating content, he mixed his passion for writing with his love for tennis for 2 years at SportsKeeda before joining the tennis team at EssentiallySports.
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