World No.1 Novak Djokovic is currently on a 12-match winning streak following his triumphs at the US Open and at last week’s China Open where he claimed the title in Beijing for the sixth time in his career.
The Serbian still has plenty of matches to play as the season approaches its climax with the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris as well as the ATP Finals in London in November. Nevertheless, it hasn’t stopped Djokovic from talking about his key goals for 2016. The world No.1 will be aiming to become the first Serbian tennis player in history to win an Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro next year.
“Everybody is looking forward to being part of the Olympic Games. I’m not an exception. I really would love to be part of the Olympic Serbian team”. Djokovic recently told reporters in Shanghai.
“That’s definitely one of the highlights and one of the priorities of the next season, try to get a medal for my country. I’m going to do everything I can possibly to achieve that”. He added.
The ten-time Grand Slam champion claimed a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after defeating America’s James Blake in the bronze medal play-off. He was denied a place in the final after losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. His success in 2008 was the first time that a Serbian tennis player have won an Olympic medal of any sort. At the 2012 London Olympics Djokovic finished fourth after losing to Juan Martin Del Potro in the bronze medal playoff.
Besides his Rio quest, Djokovic has also pledged to try and win the French Open for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old has reached the final of the tournament three times (2012, 2014 and 2015) but has fallen short each time. Earlier this year he lost to Stan Wawrinka in four sets.
“I’ll fight to win it next year”. Djokovic said about the 2016 French Open.
Djokovic is bidding for his ninth title of 2015 at this week’s Shanghai Rolex Masters. So far this year he has claimed three Grand Slam titles, four Masters titles and one ATP 500 title.
