Paris Olympics 2024: Novak Djokovic beats Stefanos Tsitsipas despite knee injury
Novak Djokovic overcame problems with his surgically repaired right knee at the Paris Olympics on Thursday night and erased a big deficit in the second set to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (3) and reach the Summer Games’ semifinals for the fourth time as he tries to collect his first gold medal.
Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia with 24 Grand Slam titles, will face Lorenzo Musetti of Italy on Friday for a berth in the final.
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain meets Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the other men’s semifinal.
Djokovic showed signs of trouble with the knee early in the second set at Court Philippe Chatrier. That is the same stadium where he originally tore his meniscus on June 3 during a match at the French Open, forcing him to withdraw from that tournament.
He had an operation in Paris on June 5 but returned to action less than a month later at Wimbledon, where he wore a gray sleeve over that knee and played well enough to make it all the way to the final before losing to Alcaraz.
During that event, Djokovic said it took him a few matches to feel OK, but eventually he was playing without pain. Over the past week at the 2024 Paris Games, still wearing that sleeve on his leg, Djokovic has looked fine physically and pronounced himself fit.
For all he has accomplished — more major championships than any other man in tennis history; 98 total trophies; more weeks at No. 1 than anyone else since the computerized rankings began a half-century ago — the one significant item Djokovic is missing from his resume is an Olympic title (he won a bronze at Beijing in 2008).
And he made clear that was a priority this season.
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Djokovic did not lose a set through his first three matches, including a 6-1, 6-4 victory over rival Rafael Nadal.
Against Tsitsipas — a 25-year-old from Greece who twice was the runner-up to Djokovic in two major finals, including at the 2021 French Open — there were no apparent issues during the opening set for the Serbian.
On that set’s last point, Djokovic slid to his right to smack a cross-court forehand winner, eyes wide, then waved his arms overhead to encourage the crowd to get rowdier.
But in the second set, he took an awkward step on one point, then another. He was grimacing and wincing and limping occasionally. At the changeover after Djokovic fell behind 3-0, he was visited by a trainer who manipulated the knee and they spoke about what was going on.
During that prolonged conversation, his wife, Jelena, looked on anxiously from the stands while holding a small Serbian flag. His team appeared worried, too.
Soon it was 4-0; at the changeover with the score 4-1, the trainer returned, accompanied by a doctor, who gave Djokovic a pill to take. Tsitsipas served for the set at 5-3, earning three chances to force a third when he went up 40-love in that game. But Djokovic, as resilient as anyone, did not yield.
He broke there and, as usual, was superior in the concluding tiebreaker.