Novak Djokovic has reached the singles quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics for the fourth time in five appearances. The 37-year-old Serbian, currently the top seed, defeated Germany’s Dominik Koepfer with a score of 7-5, 6-3 after initially struggling to find his rhythm.
On the other side of the men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev of Russia, competing as an “Individual Neutral Athlete” due to his country’s restrictions, lost to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime with a score of 6-3, 7-6 (5). Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, had a perfect 7-0 head-to-head record against Auger-Aliassime prior to the match but has historically struggled on clay courts, with five first-round exits in his eight French Open appearances.
Djokovic, who holds a men’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles and has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any player in history, has emphasized that achieving success at this Olympics is his main goal for the year. His only Olympic medal so far is a bronze, earned in 2008 at Beijing after losing to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Djokovic has also been defeated in the semifinals by eventual champions at the 2012 London Games and the 2021 Tokyo Games.
“The goal,” Djokovic stated, “is to break that barrier of the semifinals.”
Next, Djokovic will face Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, a rematch of their 2021 French Open final, where Djokovic came back to win after losing the first two sets. Tsitsipas advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Sebastian Baez of Argentina, 7-5, 6-1.
In addition to Djokovic and Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, Tommy Paul of the U.S., and Lorenzo Musetti of Italy also advanced to the quarterfinals. Alcaraz, the recent winner of the French Open and Wimbledon, will face Paul in a rematch of their previous encounter at Wimbledon.
During his match against Koepfer, Djokovic initially displayed inconsistency, with the first set tied at 5-5. However, he secured the final two games of the first set, prompting the crowd to chant his nickname: “No-le! No-le!” After taking a 3-0 lead in the second set, Koepfer received treatment for a blister on his left middle finger.
Djokovic, who underwent knee surgery in June after tearing his meniscus, was seen wearing a gray sleeve on his right knee during the match. He made a remarkable return to the sport at Wimbledon, where he reached the final before losing to Alcaraz.
With this victory, Djokovic has become the first man to reach the singles quarterfinals four times since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988.
