Tennis-Olympic gold in LA is Djokovic's new obsession
FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Champions Park medallists celebrations - Champions Park, Paris, France - August 05, 2024. Tennis Men's Singles gold medallist Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with his medal during the Champions Park medallists celebrations. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo
(Reuters) -Novak Djokovic says that defending his Olympic title at LA 2028 - when he would be 41 years old - has become his primary motivation to continue competing, marking a significant shift in priorities for the 24-times Grand Slam champion.
"The only thing that at this moment, professionally speaking, I have in my vision is the Olympics of 2028 in Los Angeles," Djokovic told former Croatia football international and manager Slaven Bilic in an interview published on Olympics.com.
"And playing for the national team and Grand Slams... but not even the Grand Slams, not as much as the Olympics."
The 38-year-old Serbian's Paris 2024 victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the final completed his collection of every major accolade in tennis, including all four Grand Slam titles, the Davis Cup, ATP Finals and every Masters event -- a career "Golden Slam" that had eluded him until that point.
If successful in Los Angeles, Djokovic -- currently ranked fifth in the world -- would join Britain's Andy Murray as the only players to defend an Olympic singles title.
(Reporting by Ossian Shine, editing by Ed Osmond)
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