“Ready to Perform At My Best”: Novak Djokovic Issues Warning Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics 2020

Published 07/22/2021, 8:05 AM EDT

The 20-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic, sounds upbeat ahead of the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics. The Serbian is eyeing to achieve a Calendar Golden Slam, a feat no man has ever achieved in history.

More than halfway through his mission, Djokovic’s penultimate step towards the historic feat is winning the singles gold medal at the Olympics, an event he has achieved little success in his otherwise glittering career.

Novak Djokovic is confident of his chances

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During a recent media interaction, Djokovic expressed delight over having an unbelievable season so far. The World No.1 has compiled a 34-3 match record and has clinched the first three Grand Slam championships of the year.

Certainly, the man to beat, Djokovic mentioned he is fully prepared and rearing to compete at the highest level to accomplish his dream of winning a gold medal for his country.

“I feel great physically, mentally. I feel ready to perform at my best. I’ve had arguably the best Grand Slam season in my sport so far – winning three out of three Grand Slams. I could not have better preparation,” said Djokovic.

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The 34-year-old also jokingly mentioned being happy about Juan Martin del Potro’s absence. Del Potro has been Djokovic’s biggest impediment at the Olympics since he eliminated the Serbian in the first round at the 2016 Rio Games and also defeated him in the bronze medal match at the 2012 London Games.

“I am happy that Del Potro is not here… I wrote him that. But I’m happy to see him back on the tennis court. … I hope he can be on the high level very soon,” said Djokovic.

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Been handed an easy draw, Djokovic would begin his historic pursuit against Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien in the first round. Djokovic might face Alexander Zverev in the semifinals and would most likely meet either Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the finals.

With the matches starting on July 24th, Saturday, at Ariake Tennis Park, Japan, the upcoming two weeks would provide some power-packed action!

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Kshitij Tayal is a tennis author at EssentiallySports. Having played district-level tennis competitions, Kshitij is also a tenured journalist of the sport with over four years of experience. At EssentiallySports, he pens down some thought-provoking pieces on players and tournaments across the ATP and WTA.