Novak Djokovic has claimed he is the underdog for Sunday’s Olympics tennis final, declaring Carlos Alcaraz ‘the best player in the world at the moment’.
The men’s singles final at Paris 2024 will effectively be a rematch of the Wimbledon final earlier this summer.
Alcaraz triumphed at SW19 and is expected to do so again having won three of the last five grand slams including the French Open at Roland Garros less than two months ago.
Whether he’s just being honest or trying to psyche out his opponent, Djokovic has lauded the Spaniard ahead of their clash but also warned him that at the Olympics anything can happen.
‘I don’t consider myself a favourite on Sunday because Alcaraz has proven [he is] the best player in the world at the moment,’ the Serbian said.
‘He won Roland Garros, he won Wimbledon, beat me in the finals quite comfortable there, reached the finals [here] without dropping a set. I mean I did too but I think the way he is playing, he’s definitely a favourite.
‘But it’s Olympics, it’s really anybody’s game I think. We haven’t faced each other on clay in a while, I think the only time we played here was last year’s semi-final of Roland Garros [which Djokovic won].
‘I feel like I’m a different player than I was in Wimbledon, the way I move, the way I’m striking the ball. Not to take anything away from his win in Wimbledon finals, he was dominating and deservedly a winner, but I feel more confident about myself and my chances in the finals.’
Despite winning a record 24 majors, Djokovic has only ever won one Olympic medal – a bronze at Beijing 2008 – with this his first final.
If he were to triumph he would become only the third player in history to achieve a ‘Career Golden Slam’ – winning all four major titles and an Olympic gold medal – after Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal.
‘[It’s a] huge relief because I never got to the Olympics finals even though I played really well I thought at Olympic Games,’ the 37-year-old added.
‘Three out of four Olympic Games I played, I played semis, won bronze from the first one in Beijing but after that I kind of failed to overcome that hurdle.
‘So just to secure a higher medal for the first time, for my country, whatever happens on Sunday is a huge obviously pride and honour and happiness and that’s why I celebrated the way I did [in the semi-finals].
‘And I still feel like I need to celebrate because it’s a big success of course. I am going to go on for gold on Sunday, there is no doubt about it, but this is a big deal.’
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