Djokovic continues chase for first gold medal at Paris Olympics

Novak Djokovic continued his pursuit of a first Olympic gold medal on Wednesday at the Paris Olympics, where he moved past Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

The Serbian defeated rival Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the second round and backed up his 31st win against the Spaniard with a dialled-in performance against Koepfer, advancing after one hour and 37 minutes.

The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who has won a record 24 major titles and 40 ATP Masters 1000 crowns, is making his fifth Olympics appearance. Djokovic’s best result came in Beijing in 2008 when he won a bronze medal. The Serbian, who is eager to add an Olympic gold to his trophy cabinet, revealed he is loving his time in Paris.

"It is a great honour to represent my country at the Olympics. It is an incredible sporting event," Djokovic said. "We play Roland Garros every year in this stadium but the crowd, the atmosphere, the colours, everything is different. In a good way. The Roland Garros crowd is very knowledgeable and passionate about tennis but the Olympic crowd is something different.

"People from all over the world come to support their athletes and I think there are so many different nations and nationalities and it is beautiful to see. We are all celebrating sport and I am glad to still stay in the tournament."

Hunting for the 🥇@DjokerNole records a 7-5 6-3 victory over Koepfer to reach the quarter-finals!@Olympics | #Paris2024 | #Tennis pic.twitter.com/gtFztGqoTj

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 31, 2024

In hot Parisian conditions, Djokovic recovered from squandering a break advantage in the first set, grinding down the German in gruelling baseline rallies in the closing stages of the set to lead. The 37-year-old then won 95 per cent (19/20) of his first-serve points in the second set to reach the last eight in Paris.

Djokovic let out a roar after sealing victory on his first match point with a punched volley. He raised his arms to the sky to take in the embrace of the Serbian fans inside Court Philippe Chatrier, where a number of Serbian flags were spread around the stadium.

"I am soaking wet. It is a very humid day, as it was yesterday. I just hope it rains so it cools down the temperature a bit, the air," Djokovic said. "It is the same for me and my opponent so you have to make the best out of it."

Djokovic will next play eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek downed Argentine Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-1. Djokovic takes a 11-2 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead into his meeting with Tsitsipas, having won their past 10 meetings.