‘Normally I rise and I learn and get stronger’
It was late in the third set in the Wimbledon final that Djokovic threatened Alcaraz the most, fending off a fist full of championship points and sending the set into a tie-break.
While Djokovic couldn’t send the match into a fourth set, he should take solace in that fact, as well as from his convincing wins over young guns Holger Rune and Lorenzo Musetti en route to the final.
“The Olympic Games and U.S. Open are the two big goals for the rest of the year for me,” Djokovic said. “I’m hoping I can be at my best at those two tournaments. That’s all I can say right now.”
Djokovic, Serbia’s flag bearer at London 2012, can also look to the Olympic format if he has doubts around his body: Matches are contested out of the best of three sets instead of the best-of-five format at the majors for the men.
Three years ago, Djokovic was two wins away from the gold only to falter – at two hurdles. After a semi-final loss to eventual champion Alexander Zverev, he lost the bronze medal tilt to Pablo Carreño Busta of Spain.
That came after a first-round shock loss to Juan Martin Del Potro at Rio 2016, the same player who had beaten him for bronze in London (where he lost to Andy Murray in the semis).
That aforementioned levelling up is what consumes Djokovic now in the coming days into Paris. Where, he hopes, he can do something he’s never done before: Claim gold.
“I’m going to work on it,” he said of his level. “It’s not something I haven’t experienced before ever in my life. I’ve had so many different experiences throughout my career. In the face of adversity, normally I rise and I learn and get stronger.
“That’s what I’m going to do.”