"Only thing I have in my head...": Djokovic intends to defend men's title at LA 2028 Olympic Games
New Delhi : Former World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic said that defending his Olympic title in Los Angeles in 2028 is the "only thing" that is keeping him motivated in the sport.
Great Britain's Andy Murray remains the only player to have defended an Olympic singles title. Serbia's Djokovic would be 41 by the time he can do the same in the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
Despite managing his workload with noticeably fewer tournaments in recent seasons, the 24-time Grand Slam champion told football manager Slaven Bilic that he wants to play in his sixth Games, having won singles bronze on his debut at Beijing 2008.
"The only thing that, at this moment, professionally speaking, I have in my vision at this point. It's interesting when we talk about these achievements and the Olympics that stand out and redemption; the only thing that I have in my head that gives me motivation is the Olympics of 2028 in Los Angeles. Playing for the national team and Grand Slams. But not even the Grand Slams, not as much as the Olympics," Djokovic said in an interview as quoted by Olympics.com.
The 38-year-old's victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the Paris 2024 final completed his quest to win every major accolade the sport can offer.
That includes winning all four Grand Slams, the Davis Cup, the ATP Finals and every Masters event.
Tennis at LA 2028 will be hosted at the Tennis Center in Carson, which is currently a USTA high-performance training base.
In the recently concluded French Open 2025, Djokovic lost to world number one Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. Sinner defeated three-time French Open winner and 100-time tour-level titlist 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times of Oman
4 days ago
- Times of Oman
"Only thing I have in my head...": Djokovic intends to defend men's title at LA 2028 Olympic Games
New Delhi : Former World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic said that defending his Olympic title in Los Angeles in 2028 is the "only thing" that is keeping him motivated in the sport. Great Britain's Andy Murray remains the only player to have defended an Olympic singles title. Serbia's Djokovic would be 41 by the time he can do the same in the LA 2028 Olympic Games. Despite managing his workload with noticeably fewer tournaments in recent seasons, the 24-time Grand Slam champion told football manager Slaven Bilic that he wants to play in his sixth Games, having won singles bronze on his debut at Beijing 2008. "The only thing that, at this moment, professionally speaking, I have in my vision at this point. It's interesting when we talk about these achievements and the Olympics that stand out and redemption; the only thing that I have in my head that gives me motivation is the Olympics of 2028 in Los Angeles. Playing for the national team and Grand Slams. But not even the Grand Slams, not as much as the Olympics," Djokovic said in an interview as quoted by The 38-year-old's victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the Paris 2024 final completed his quest to win every major accolade the sport can offer. That includes winning all four Grand Slams, the Davis Cup, the ATP Finals and every Masters event. Tennis at LA 2028 will be hosted at the Tennis Center in Carson, which is currently a USTA high-performance training base. In the recently concluded French Open 2025, Djokovic lost to world number one Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. Sinner defeated three-time French Open winner and 100-time tour-level titlist 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3).
Times of Oman
4 days ago
- Times of Oman
In front of thousands of empty seats, Chelsea kick off Club World Cup campaign with dominant win over LAFC
Atlanta: Chelsea got their FIFA Club World Cup campaign underway with a 2-0 victory over MLS side Los Angeles FC in front of thousands of empty seats at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Thousands of seats were visibly empty in a 71,000-capacity stadium as Chelsea made a winning start in Group D. According to Sky Sports, the official attendance of the fixture was 22,137, which indicates that the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was less than a third full. In the first half, former Tottenham and LAFC's current goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, was called into action and denied Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke from racing away with an early lead. Chelsea grew in possession, pushed LAFC back and eventually broke the stalemate. In front of a limited number of fans, Pedro Neto's 34th-minute goal gave manager Enzo Maresca's side a 1-0 advantage. The Portuguese breached the offside trap and latched onto Jackson's precise pass. He cut the ball back in and fired it into the bottom corner to put the Conference League winners 1-0 ahead in the contest. Chelsea fans caught a glimpse of their latest acquisition, Liam Delap, in action midway through the second half. Chelsea had to work hard for their second but eventually got it in the second half. Delap was brought onto the field and engaged in back-and-forth passes with Cole Palmer. He put his quick feet on exhibition and eventually set up Fernandez to tap it home in the 79th minute for a 2-0 triumph. After the contest, Chelsea boss Maresca didn't shy away from expressing his surprise on the thousands of seats that were empty throughout the fixture and said as quoted from Sky Sports, "The atmosphere and environment was a bit strange. The stadium was almost empty." LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo gave his opinion and said, "I think it is different each game you look at," he said, adding, "In the Rose Bowl in LA, there was a huge crowd for the game between PSG and Atletico Madrid. Maybe LA likes football more than Atlanta, I don't know, we should judge at the end."
Times of Oman
5 days ago
- Times of Oman
FIFA Club WC: Bayern hand 10-goal beating to Auckland City; UEFA CL champs PSG start tournament with 4-0 win
Cincinnati : Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich kickstarted their FIFA Club World Cup campaign on a high, delivering a devastating 10-0 beating to Auckland City at TQL Stadium on Sunday night. The standouts were Thomas Muller being among three players scoring a brace, and Jamal Musiala delivering a brilliant hat-trick. Kingsley Coman started the destruction of the New Zealand-based club with the help of a close-range header in the sixth minute. The German giants then upped the attack, with Sacha Boey (18th minute), Michael Olise (20) and Coman (21) again delivering three quick goals, making sure that they were out of harm's way by miles before even the clock hit 30 minutes. By the time half-time had arrived, Muller, associated with the club for 25 years, joined the goal-scoring party with a fine volley (45th minute), and Olise (45th minute+3) struck a left-footed strike from a long distance to take the scoreline to 6-0. The second half was Jamal's stage to shine as he started with a magnificent long-range effort (67th minute), followed by a penalty conversion (73rd minute). He completed his hat-trick in the 84th minute, making the most out of an error from goalkeeper Conor Tracey. In the 89th minute, Muller made the scoreline double-digit, sending a warning to the rest of the opponents. Following the game, Vincent Kompany, the Bayern coach, was quoted as saying by FIFA's official website, "We do not need praise or anything like that right now, we just did our job. We played very seriously. We did what we had to do, and perhaps the goal difference in this group is not unimportant. That is why the ten goals are perhaps also important for this group stage." Also, Muller said, "The stadium was full, we had fans who were really into the game and reacted to the flow of play, especially celebrating the goals. After my last goal, I had a great moment celebrating with them. They were totally behind us. It was a lot of fun. All in all, a very good start. Sure, we were the favourites, but we lived up to that role. That is how we want to keep going," he concluded. Meanwhil, in hot and sunny conditions, the newly-crowned UEFA Champions League winners Paris-Saint Germain handed a 4-0 defeat to Atletico de Madrid. Having won the Ligue 1, Coupe de France and UEFA CL in a historic 2024/25 campaign, the French giants started their global supremacy aspirations with a low drive from outside the box from Fabian Ruiz in the 19th minute. Despite an early attempt from Julian Alvarez, Atletico struggled to break through PSG's defence. Another strike from Vitinha in the 45th minute doubled their lead at the end of the half-time. Though Atletico made some attempts, it was PSG's substitute Senny Mayulu's strike that tripled the lead and ruled out any chances of a comeback for the opponents in the 87th minute. During the added time, a handball from Robin Le Normand gave PSG another chance to score as Lee Kangin effortlessly converted a penalty. Following the game, PSG defender Marquinhos said, "We never know how a game will end up, especially when playing an opponent like them. Our team showed its strength. Yes, we won the Champions League, but today we showed our intensity once again. We have to be humble, continue to defend, to attack, and keep going in the same direction." Also, Atletico star Antoine Griezmann said, "We expected to be able to play the same kind of game as at the Parc [des Princes last November], but it was tougher with the heat. Some plays could have gone our way, but they went their way. We have to keep working. We expected this. We had prepared our plan well. It is a shame."
