Novak Djokovic entered the 2016 Olympics tournament in Rio de Janeiro as the biggest favourite but he lost already in the first round of the tournament.
At the time, the Serbian won the last four Grand Slam tournaments played and without a doubt he was the biggest favourite to win the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. However, already in the first round, he faced the 2009 US Open champion, Juan Martin del Potro who stopped Novak Djokovic already in the first round of the tournament.
Therefore, until today, Novak Djokovic has only one Olympic medal in his collection which he won after defeating James Blake in a Bronze Medal match in 2008. In a recently published interview with Graham Bensinger that took place already in 2020, the 21-time Grand Slam champion spoke about how he felt following the Olympics in Brazil.
“It was one of the most heartbreaking moments I had in my career. Yes, really. Because I built with myself huge expectations for the Olympic Games in Rio. I was number one in the world and won fours Slams in a row," said Novak Djokovic.
"I was at the peak of my career in terms of the results, in terms of how I play, how I feel. I felt if there was ever a time for me to get the gold medal or fight for a gold medal, it was then,” Djokovic said.
“Because, I guess, I got injured, because I built such a huge pressure and expectation on myself, it was just unbearable. It was too much and at the time I just wasn't aware how to handle it in a proper way. And I got injured and I had to, you know, I lost my first round match against del Potro who went on to win the silver medal," Djokovic said.
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