Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic recently opened up about the toughest defeat of his career that — despite winning 23 Grand Slam titles — still haunts him.
Djokovic talked about losing to Alexander Zverer at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which was nothing less than a burning disappointment for the 36-year-old as he failed to grab the gold medal.
"An Olympic medal, especially a gold medal, is always a great desire," Djokovic told Radio Television of Serbia in an interview.
“I re-watched my match with Zverev in Tokyo many times to understand what went wrong. I've been playing excellently up to that point, but I felt like I was running out of energy, both mentally and physically."
Djokovic will be 37 years old by the time of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
It must be noted that Novak withdrew from the ongoing Canadian Open as he is fully focused on the US Open which starts in August.
"I have always enjoyed my stay in Canada, but after talking to my team, we believe this is the right decision to make,” Djokovic said.
“I would like to thank Karl Hale, the tournament director, for understanding this decision. I really hope to be able to return to Canada and Toronto in the next few years to play in front of great fans.”
Djokovic surpassed Rafael Nadal with the most Grand Slam titles to his name in June after clinching Roland Garros in Paris.
Djokovic’s 23 Grand Slam titles consist of 10x Australian Open, 7x Wimbledon, 3x US Open and 3x Roland Garros.
He is also the only player in tennis men’s history to win all four majors on at least three occasions.
The 36-year-old now has his eyes on the upcoming US Open as he is willing to extend his Grand Slam tally to 24 titles but he will have to face tough competition from Carlos Alcaraz probably who also ended his 14-match win streak at Wimbledon in July.