Tennis: Novak Djokovic Faces Tough Draw At Olympics
Tennis World No. 1 Novak Djokovic faces a tough draw at the Tokyo Olympics as the his quest for the Golden Slam is not an easy one, with possible matches against Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic, representing Serbia, has won the season’s first three grand slams and could become the first male player ever to win the Golden Slam if he first captures gold in Tokyo. Then all that’s left is winning the US Open in August. Steffi Graf is the only player to ever do it, in 1988.
The tennis event is being held at Ariake Tennis Park, site of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.
Djokovic has just one bronze medal to his name in three previous Olympics. He lost to Juan Martin del Potro twice, in 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio), after capturing bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Serbian will open his Olympics campaign against Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien, ranked 139th in the world. But then things could get harder. Djokovic could face Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the third round. Djokovic trailed Musetti 2-0 at the French Open last month, before rallying for the victory.
Djokovic could face World No. 7 Andrey Rublev of Russia in the quarterfinals. It would be the first match between them. If he wins there, he could face the fifth-ranked Alexander Zverev of Germany in the semifinals.
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters/ATP.
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