Novak Djokovic has chosen a different means of accommodation during his stay at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A large number of athletes have arrived in Paris, France, with Serbia's delegation and representatives set to travel at intervals. The first group of Serbian competitors includes those from the women's volleyball team that departed from Belgrade on Tuesday evening.
Serbian swimmers, table tennis players, and judokas are expected to arrive in the French capital on Wednesday. A total of 112 athletes in 15 sports will represent the Balkan country, with the most prominent of them being tennis superstar Novak Djokovic.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is expected to join his compatriots in Paris before Friday. However, Djokovic will not be housed inside the Olympic Village, which is a famous landmark since that is where the athletes will stay and share rooms and common areas.
"We expect Novak to arrive within the next few days, although he will not be staying with us in the Village."
Djokovic is unlikely to bump into several of his countrymen and women competing at the event on a regular basis. This is mildly surprising, considering that he chose to live with fellow athletes in Tokyo three years ago.
He said at the time, "I’m enjoying every second, in a place with more than ten thousand athletes, exchanging knowledge, life stories and things about sports. You don’t get that kind of experience anywhere else."
But this is not the first time that Djokovic has chosen complete privacy at the Olympics. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he preferred to stay only with his coaching team in Brazil, and his campaign ended after the first round in a shock defeat to Juan Martin del Potro.
What Is Djokovic Doing Differently At the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Djokovic will be competing in his fifth Olympic Games. He is the only athlete to win a tennis medal since Serbia rejoined the Olympic Games as an independent country in 2008. That year, he defeated the USA's James Blake to win a bronze medal.
The former World No. 1 finished each of his other three Olympics empty-handed, including in Tokyo, where he lost the bronze medal match against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta.
This year, Djokovic has chosen not to compete in doubles at the tournament. Some of his fans believe his participation in mixed doubles at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics was the fundamental reason for his loss to Alexander Zverev in singles, although this notion irked his partner, Nina Stojanovic.
Winning a gold medal is on top of Djokovic's bucket list. Despite his inability to lift a single ATP title in 2024, he is considered one of the favorites at the tournament, which will be held at Roland Garros.
Djokovic opted to take some time away from competition after his Wimbledon final defeat two weeks ago. He returned to Montenegro to recuperate and has been training there. In his most recent update, which he shared on Instagram, the 37-year-old is pictured trying his hands on rowing on the Adriatic Sea.
"To get in the zone for @olympics, thought I'd try one of the other events."
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