Novak Djokovic 'hoping for rain' after boosting gold medal hopes at Paris Olympics with third win
Novak Djokovic has joked that he's hoping for rain at the Paris Olympics after taking another step towards the gold medal he craves
REUTERS
Novak Djokovic has joked that he's hoping for rain at the Paris Olympics after taking another step towards the gold medal he craves.
The Serb has won 24 Grand Slams throughout his career but has never won gold at an Olympics, having taken part in games in 2008. 2012, 2016 and 2021.
Djokovic went into his clash with Dominik Koepfer on the back of impressive victories over Rafael Nadal and Matthew Ebden.
And the former world No 1 continued his march towards glory with a straightforward 7-5, 6-3 win.
Novak Djokovic has joked that he's hoping for rain at the Paris Olympics after taking another step towards the gold medal he craves
REUTERS
The match was played out amid sweltering temperatures in Paris.
And Djokovic, speaking to Eurosport, has now admitted he's hoping for rain to help make conditions more bearable.
"I'm soaking wet, honestly," he said.
"It's a very, very humid day today as it was yesterday. I hope it rains so it cools down, the temperature bit and the air.
"But it is what it is. You have to kind of accept and embrace the conditions, it's the same for you and your opponent."
"Absolutely [it feels like it's big competing for your country]. It's a great honour to represent my country at the Olympics, an incredible sporting event.
"We play Roland Garros every year in this stadium but the crowd, the atmosphere, the colours is different. In a good way.
"The Roland Garros crowd is knowledgeable and passionate about tennis but an Olympic crowd is something different.
"I think people come from all over the world to cheer their respective countries and athletes. It's beautiful to see, we're all celebrating sport.
"And I'm glad to stay in the tournament."
Next up for Djokovic will be a tough test against eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 25-year-old has beaten Zizou Bergs, Dan Evans and Sebastian Baez on his way to the quarter-finals.
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Novak Djokovic was too strong for Dominik Koepfer after his victory at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday
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Djokovic has faced Tsitsipas 13 times throughout his career so far.
The 37-year-old, who recently lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final of Wimbledon, has won 11 of those meetings.
Novak Djokovic paid tribute to fans at the Paris Olympics after his victory over Dominik Koepfer
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The last time they met was in last year's Australian Open final, with Djokovic winning 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 to add another major to his collection.
But Tsitsipas will take heart from his two victories over Djokovic so far, having beaten the tennis icon in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
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