Serbian Novak Djokovic announced on Thursday (July 15th) that he would take part in the tennis tournament of the Tokyo Olympics, giving himself the opportunity to perform the first Golden Slam in history for a player. “I have booked my flight to Tokyo and I will proudly join the Serbian team for the Olympics”, announced on Twitter the world number one, winner of the first three majors of the year 2021, in Australia, in France and in England.
Cannot disappoint my little friend Koujirou. I booked my flight for Tokyo and will proudly be joining #TeamSerbia f… https://t.co/fwQVYFe5vf
The 34-year-old Serb had cast doubt on his coming to Tokyo due to the strong health restrictions in force to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, claiming to be “At 50/50” just after his victory in the Wimbledon final against Matteo Berrettini.
Absence of its main rivals
At the Games, he will face a table diminished by several major absences: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem or Nick Kyrgios have already thrown in the towel.
Japanese authorities will apply drastic health restrictions at the Olympics, which are due to start on July 23. Almost all competitions will be behind closed doors, and athletes, subject to strict quarantine, are not allowed to come with their families.
To achieve the Golden Slam, that is to say the four Grand Slam tournaments plus Olympic gold, Novak Djokovic has “only” to win the Olympics and the US Open (August 30-September 12), after his coronations in the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. No man has ever achieved this feat. Only the German Steffi Graf succeeded in women, in 1988.