Serbian tennis champion Novak Djokovic has set his sights on competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where he hopes to defend his gold medal despite the challenge of being 41 years old.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner considers his victory over Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics to be the pinnacle achievement of his legendary tennis career, but acknowledges the significant age obstacle he’ll face in four years.
Speaking to media following his second-round victory against Kamil Majchrzak at Indian Wells on Saturday, Djokovic expressed his Olympic ambitions. “That’s one of the long-term goals, to reach the Olympics. That would be nice,” he stated.
“It’s still a long way off. I think at my age and this stage of my career, every year seems like a longer period than it is for anyone who is younger,” Djokovic explained. “But I’ll try to make it, definitely one of the motivations, so I’ll try to be there.”
Should Djokovic successfully defend his Olympic title, he would join Andy Murray as the only male player to win consecutive Olympic singles gold medals. The Serbian star previously earned bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In his return to competition after an impressive Australian Open campaign that featured a dramatic five-set semifinal victory over Jannik Sinner, Djokovic showed some early struggles before finding his rhythm to defeat Majchrzak 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
“It’s good to be back on tour,” Djokovic commented after the match. “Five weeks with no official match, I knew that the first match in such a long time will be a little bit tricky with conditions that are quite challenging,” he added, noting the windy conditions in the California desert.
The third-seeded player will face American Aleksandar Kovacevic in his next match at the tournament.
