Novak Djokovic will continue his bid for the Golden Grand Slam after the world No 1 confirmed he will compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
After defending his Wimbledon title last week, Djokovic said his chances of playing at the Olympics were "50-50" following the introduction of new restrictions that would limit athletes' movements around the Olympic Village and restrict the number of people he could have in his team.
However, in a social media post on Thursday night, Djokovic revealed that he is bound for Tokyo as he attempts to keep alive a feat only previously achieved by German great Steffi Graf. The 34-year-old Serb has won the first three majors of the season following titles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. If he wins Olympic gold and the US Open, he will become the first man to win the Golden Grand Slam.
"I am very proud to pack for Tokyo and join our national team in the fight for the brightest medals on the Olympic arenas," tweeted Djokovic, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.
"For me, the game for Serbia has always been a special joy and motivation and I will do my best to make us all happy! Let's go."
Some of tennis' biggest names, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Stan Wawrinka and Simona Halep have already announced their decision to skip the Games, which has been delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic
De Minaur out of Games after positive test
Australia's Alex De Minaur is the latest to join that list of absentees after he tested positive for the coronavirus. With the Games set to commence in less than a week, the world No 17 - Australia's top-ranked male - will not have enough time to recover.
The Australian Olympic team’s chef de mission Ian Chesterman told media in Tokyo on Friday that De Minaur was “shattered” over the news.
“We are very disappointed for Alex,” Chesterman said. “It has been his dream to represent Australia at the Olympic Games since he was a child.” De Minaur, Australia’s top-ranked men’s player at No. 17, was scheduled to play both singles and doubles. It was unclear if de Minaur’s doubles partner John Pearce would maintain his spot on the team.
“Alex undertook both the 96-hour and 72-hour PCR test as required by the Japanese authorities and unfortunately both returned a positive result,” the Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement from Sydney. “He was due to fly to Tokyo on July 18 from his base in Spain.
"Alex has not been in contact with other members of the Australian Olympic team since returning a negative test on July 5.”
