Djokovic on the Defeat That 'Destroyed' Him: Sweet Revenge Has Arrived
The Serbian tennis player recalled the shock of Rio 2016 when he was eliminated by the world No. 141, but erased that painful memory with Olympic gold in Paris.
The Serbian tennis player recalled the shock of Rio 2016 when he was eliminated by the world No. 141, but erased that painful memory with Olympic gold in Paris.
Novak Djokovic has revealed details of one of the toughest moments in his glittering career, a defeat that, as he puts it, completely broke him. It was the shocking first-round exit at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where, as the world No. 1 and holder of all four Grand Slam titles, he was beaten by Juan Martín del Potro.
The Argentine was battling his way back from numerous injuries at the time and arrived at the Olympics as just the 141st-ranked player in the world. Despite that, he caused a sensation by defeating Djokovic in two sets, both decided in tense tie-breaks with a score of 7-6. The Serbian ace left the court in tears, aware that one of the few titles missing from his collection had slipped away.
Years later, Djokovic spoke candidly to Večernji list about the magnitude of that failure. "It is, without a doubt, one of the toughest defeats of my life and career. The wounds are still fresh. It hurts terribly because I was eliminated so early, but on the other hand, I am happy for Del Potro because he went through so many injuries," he recalled.
He admitted that he was at the absolute peak of his form at the time. "I was at the peak of my form, world No. 1, and I had already won all four Grand Slam tournaments. I was barely missing a ball. That defeat destroyed me and made me doubt my ability to achieve it while I was at the highest level," Djokovic added.
The pain of that defeat was not reserved solely for Djokovic. Ivanišević also spoke about it, saying: "He ruined my life, and I can't forgive him for it. Because of him, I couldn't sleep..."
Djokovic had to wait nearly a decade for the chance to right that painful memory. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, his moment finally came. In the final, he defeated Carlos Alcaraz and, at the age of 37, won the Olympic gold, the only major title missing from his career. With that triumph, he replaced the painful memory of Rio with one of the most significant achievements of his career.
