By: Grace Wang
2024 was a strange year for 37 year old Novak Djokovic; outside of winning his main priority of the year – the 2024 Paris Olympics and the last item on a legendary resume, his other results were lackluster to say the least. Early exits and losses to much less accomplished and ranked players plagued his season, raising the question – is this the end of the 37 year old’s dominant reign on the ATP tour?
Besides early losses, consistency issues, and the extraordinary domination of youngsters, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic was also troubled by injuries, including a knee surgery just a few weeks prior to Wimbledon. Few expected Djokovic to go far on the grass court slam, but he proved them wrong by making it to the final. There, he was badly beaten by Carlos Alcaraz, causing many to question if this meant the decline of the GOAT of tennis.
However, as shown many times, Djokovic beat all odds by winning the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, his first Gold medal and his only true remaining goal in tennis as he had accomplished everything else. In the final, he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in two tiebreaker sets, in one of the best quality matches of the year. He finally won gold for Serbia, and knew that he had completed the sport. In addition, alongside his Olympics run, he defeated longtime rival and fellow tennis icon, Rafael Nadal, in their 60th and final professional match as Nadal had announced his retirement at the end of the year. After the Olympics, Djokovic played two more tournaments; the US Open and Shanghai Masters where he lost in the third round and final. 2024 was a lackluster year for the Serb, who outside of winning the Olympics, won no other titles, which was extremely uncharacteristic.
With his body deteriorating with age and the rise of the Next Gen as indicated by Djokovic’s results in 2024, it appears that his golden career may be coming to a close soon. However, if there is anything that is to be learned from the Serb’s career, it is that Djokovic can never be counted out completely.
